The way is now clear, as a result of a feasibility study, for the Government of Anguilla to embark on, and seek investment for, up to five separate marinas at selected coastline areas of the island for superyachts as well as smaller yachts as the demand may be.
Such projects would be built one after the other, depending on the availability of investment funding and the demand for such facilities. It is expected that anyone of the multi-million dollar projects would contribute substantially to the financial and economic development of Anguilla, with heavily-increased job opportunities for the people of the island as a main and sustaining benefit whether on a seasonal or regular basis.
The feasibility study was carried out by Edgewater Resources, LLC, a United States-based consultancy company with offices in Michigan and Florida, on behalf of the Government of Anguilla. On the island to deliver the report to the Government and to preside over a number of town hall meetings, has been Mr. Ronald E. Schults, P.E., Principal of Edgewater Resources, LLC.
He told The Anguillian on Wednesday, June 27, that originally 13 coastal sites were looked at possible Superyacht marinas, but that the number had been scaled down to five.
“We were asked by the Government of Anguilla to look at the feasibility of building a superyacht marina on the island,” he told The Anguillian newspaper on the eve of its printing deadline. “We took a look at an island-wide study of where would be the most advantageous place to build a marina; and if it is physically available, what would be the impacts on the environment, the neighbourhoods and the market. So it was also a market feasibility study to identify the growth in large yachts, whether they have enough places to go or whether there are more places in demand.”
Mr. Schults continued: “We know that the market and the pricing look very good. Yachts don’t have many places to go and we initially focused on eleven sites around Anguilla and then we reduced those to five. These seem to be the prime locations that properly address the engineering concerns. These concerns are obviously the coastal dynamics, the winds, waves, currents, storms and hurricanes and how to properly protect the marina; also the seagrass, corals, the bird population and the basin flushing so that we will have clean water wherever we have a marina and so forth. Combining all of that, we developed some initial concept plans for the five sites which we have access to.”
Mr. Schults named the sites as follows: “One is at Sandy Ground; another at Blowing Point; and the others at Scrub Island, Rendezvous and Little Harbour. Each project is feasible; each has slightly different parameters. Sandy Ground is obviously owned by the Government so presumably there will be a lease by a developer for the bottom lands. The Scrub Island and Rendezvous properties are owned privately. We know a marina can be built there but the investment and business side would be between the property owners and a future investor. Little Harbour is also a Government property – I think the Social Security Board owns [part of] that property and some of the property is owned by the Government of Anguilla. That is a mixed-use property as well. Blowing Point is also a very much mixed-use property because it would not only be a marina with a waterfront development, but it also meets the service and improved access for passenger ferry operations.”
In terms of estimated costs for the marina projects, Mr. Schults explained: “Each project ranges in cost from 26 million at Little Harbour up to 81 million at Scrub Island. The Scrub Island project would be a smaller marina but it would be very expensive as it is an offshore island and there is also a lot of rock. Rendezvous would be a 65 million dollar project; and Blowing Point around 78 million. That is just the cost to build the harbour, do the dredging, the seawalls, break waters and so forth, but it does not include the value of the vertical development – which would be the residential buildings – boutique hotels, restaurants, shops and so forth. The value of each project is a multiple of the marine investment.”
Mr. Claudel Romney, Senior Partner of BDO, an Accounting Firm, serves as the on-island link between Edgewater Resources and the Government of Anguilla. He joined Mr. Schults in expressing delight over the findings of the feasibility study and the financial, economic and employment benefits that the Superyacht marinas would provide for Anguilla and its people.
Further information about the feasibility study will be given in next week’s edition of The Anguillian.
