Developer Carl Bazarian has formally applied for permits to start work on the first phase of a proposed Park Hyatt resort in St. George’s.He says he is seeking to break ground in just six weeks on excavation and a foundation for the resort’s beach club at the old Club Med site.The new beach club would serve as his company Addax Holdings’ construction office during the building of a 135 to 150-room hotel, he said.Mr Bazarian, who already has Planning approval for the resort, also revealed he has relocated the sewage treatment and reverse osmosis plants as part of the revised plans, which call for the hotel and amenities to be built first, followed by the residential component when the market improves.“Just weeks after meeting with Government, Addax Holdings Ltd. has submitted its first set of detailed documents seeking permission to start construction at the site of the former Club Med,” Mr Bazarian said in a statement last night.“This first set of documents seeks permission to break ground on the excavation and foundation for the beach club facility, which will serve as our construction office during the development of the hotel.“Once we have permits from the Ministry of Environment, Planning & Infrastructure strategy we aim to start construction in six weeks.”Mr Bazarian said that as Hyatt International stated last week, the developers have been working on several changes to the project, including putting off building planned luxury residences, that will “improve its timing and chances for success”. There had been concerns over the delay in breaking ground on the long-planned and promised resort among St George's community leaders and in Government.Mr Bazarian said: “Recognising that the dynamics around using residence sales to leverage the development of a luxury hotel have changed, Addax Holdings decided to financially engineer the project and reduce costs in a high construction cost market in order to make the hotel self-supporting from a financing standpoint.”Mr. Bazarian continued: “While we still plan at some point to develop the residential community for which we have received Planning permission, our intent at the moment is to move ahead with the hotel and launch the residential component when the market dictates.”He said Addax has been able to create a luxury hotel that stands on its own in two ways.“First, a more disciplined approach in the use of space in the hotel and facilities has been adopted,” he said. “In fact, this has led to such savings that an additional 35 to 50 full-time hotel keys will compliment the 100 keys already proposed, creating greater efficiencies and enhancing the hotel's sustainability as a year-round operation, all without increasing the footprint of the resort.“Secondly, the developer proposes to further consolidate the resort amenities and infrastructure. For example, during the Planning process, Addax relocated the luxury spa, which was originally proposed for Fort Albert, into the same building as the golf club house in order to create construction efficiencies without sacrificing the quality of the spa experience.“In addition, in a move that is expected to be welcomed by the residents of St George's, the developer has devised a strategy to relocate the sewage treatment plant and reverse osmosis water purification facility from the approved site across from the main entrance to the hotel site.”Mr Bazarian added that in order to further expedite the hotel, Addax, along with Conyers & Associates Architects, Onsite Engineering and Addax’s local planning advisers, will be submitting permitting documents in instalments over the coming four-month period.“From a construction perspective, it is planned to start the main building in Fort Victoria following the Beach Club, then simultaneously the hotel rooms, Nick Faldo golf course, spa and other public amenities,” he said.“Today’s submission to Planning is an enormous and very positive step that we hope the residents of St George's and Bermuda will appreciate.“As always, we are honoured to have the opportunity to work with the people of Bermuda and are doing everything we can to make sure this project is positioned for long-term success."