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Public gets glimpse of planned Morgan's Point resort

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An artist's impression of how part of the proposed $1.8 billion Morgan's Point resort will look when built.

Residents last night had their first glimpse of the new $1.8 billion Morgan's Point resort a dream facility which will “put Atlantis in the shade”.Developers Nelson Hunt and Craig Christensen of Southlands Ltd promised their project will create vast amounts of jobs and give the tourism industry its biggest boost in many years.Mr Hunt said the initiative is now poised to begin after the much-publicised row with Government finally came to an end, with new legislation paving the way for development and pre-cleaning work currently underway.Both men said the clean-up of the site is a much less serious task than people have been led to believe.In a presentation at Dalton E Tucker primary school, about 60 West End residents were shown drawings of state-of-the-art buildings planned for the site.Included in the plans are an ultra-luxury 80-room boutique hotel, a secret harbour surrounded by shops and restaurants and a 365-room five-star feature hotel in the middle of a harbour.“We will put Atlantis and Bahamas in the shade,” Mr Hunt told the gathering.“At long last we've got good news to report. At the last public meeting we were under a gag order. That has changed dramatically. We have been charged with a great responsibility of caretaking a large piece of land in Bermuda. We want to make sure we do it right.“What we want to do is really create jobs. Right now we have large unemployment; it's really very serious. We would like to get this started so we can re-employ.”Mr Hunt said the project is creating “another city” on the former US Naval Annex, bringing many business opportunities it is expected to feature up to 12 restaurants.He pledged jobs will go to Bermudians first, saying: “Because we are Bermudians, we are not going to let anyone else take it from us. We are going to make sure the jobs go in the right places.”Mr Christensen said: “What Atlantis did for Bahamas, Morgan's Point can do for Bermuda.“The impact will be over three times more than the Southampton Princess was when it came to Bermuda in 1972. We are developing for that next generation of Bermudians.”The clean-up of Morgan's Point has previously been estimated at $35 million and was reportedly left heavily polluted with asbestos, metals, petroleum products and other chemicals when the American military left the Island in 1995.But Mr Christensen said last night: “Some fuel tanks have to come out, but it's not as messy as people want to make it sound. I won't get into why people said that, but Morgan's Point is a lot cleaner than you think.”The initiative stalled last year, with Mr Hunt accusing then-Premier Ewart Brown of blocking a land swap deal switching the development away from the South Shore.Mr Hunt said last night: “The fighting seems to be over now, so we can concentrate our energies on moving forward.”He said the public now needs to get on board while everyone behind the scenes must play their part.“We have all got to pull together to get this,” he said. “We need to make sure our plans go through in a timely manner. It gets to certain people's desks and it sits for months.“We really don't have a good reputation overseas for getting things done when it comes to hospitality.”He said Mr Christensen had spoken with potential partners from overseas who had asked: “How are you going to treat us when we get there? How are they going to treat us at the airport?”Mr Hunt added: “In order to make something work, we have got to make sure everyone else buys in.”The presentation was organised by Southampton West and Sandys South Progressive Labour Party MPs Randy Horton and Terry Lister.Mr Horton praised Southlands Ltd for their investment, saying: “Tourism has to be seen as a viable industry. People took their eye off the tourism ball. We are now putting our eye back on the tourism ball.”Mr Horton said the tourism industry could become a good option for young people considering their futures.Mr Lister applauded the fact locals will have full access, adding: “I support what's being done with a view to ensuring it's something that would benefit all of us in the area as well as the community.”

Photo by Glenn TuckerNelson Hunt and Craig Christensen during a Morgan's Point Talk at Dalton E Tucker school.
Photo by Glenn TuckerChecking it out: Nelson Hunt, Randy Horton, Craig Christensen, a member of the public and Minister Terry Lister examine a plan of the proposed $1.8 billion Morgan's Point resort during a public meeting last night.
Photo by Glenn TuckerA map of the proposed development at Morgan's Point.