Oct. 29–ST. CROIX — A new amendment to the Hotel Development Act signed into law by the governor has provided the impetus for Paul Golden to break ground on his St. Croix Golf Resort & Casino development, which has been in the works for more than a decade.
At a press conference he called Tuesday, Golden said he will break ground by February on the proposed development of a hotel, casino and golf course on the island’s south shore near Great Pond.
Because of Bill 30-0431, an amendment to the Hotel Development Act sponsored by Sen. Alicia Hansen and signed into law earlier this month by Gov. John deJongh Jr., Golden Resorts LLLP will be able to secure funding for the $275 million project, Golden, the development company’s chief operating officer, said Tuesday.
The project will include a 400-room hotel, a convention center with a seating capacity of 1,400, a casino, restaurants, a spa and an 18-hole golf course, he said.
The proposal also will bring much-needed jobs to St. Croix, according to Golden.
“This will be the largest hotel resort on the island and will create 1,200 construction jobs and 2,000 direct and indirect jobs — 1,000 directly employed by the resort and the others as contract and other vendors,” he said.
“After 14 years, we have come a long way, and are in the final and closing phase of the funding process to making this project a reality for St. Croix.”
Golden said the project will be on an aggressive schedule that he hopes will have the resort ready to open in time for the Centennial celebrations in March 2017.
Standing next to a colorful rendering that shows the sprawling property with lush landscape, and attractive architecture, Golden said the project is more than a pretty rendering because there are dozens of pages of blueprints and well-thought out plans for the resort.
In an effort to make it easier for developers to find financing, the new law creates a government contingent lease guarantee that essentially tells lenders the V.I. government, through the Public Finance Authority, will make payments under certain conditions if the developer defaults.
“Any Government contingent lease guarantee issued by the PFA must be limited solely to annual lease payments not to exceed $20,000,000 annually in the event of a default, and may not cover the total obligation of the project proponent arising from a call on the guarantee,” according to the bill.
The bill also stipulates that the guarantee term cannot exceed 25 years and the Public Finance Authority will determine the minimum criteria for triggering the guarantee to satisfy a default.
CTL Capital LLC is the lender providing funds for the St. Croix Golf Resort & Casino and has completed projects in 40 states, as well as in Guam, England, Switzerland and Puerto Rico, and it currently has projects in development in Belize and the Cayman Islands, according to Golden.
“They have been doing these types of lending transactions for many years, since 1998, and have completed $12 billion of lease financing, $1.5 billion of that in the last 30 months alone,” Golden said.
Roy Rogers, a local representative of CTL Capital, said he has been looking forward to the project for years because the island has been suffering for too long. He said while everyone knows that the project will not be the cure-all for all of the problems, it will provide jobs.
“This is a new phase for St. Croix as we try to turn our economy around, and we are at a stage where this project can give it the push that we all need,” Rogers said.
Hansen said Golden’s announcement is a welcome relief and that the building and opening of a resort translates to increased business for taxi drivers, restaurants and even other smaller hotels.
Mark Eckard, president of St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, said while he was not authorized to speak on the chamber’s position on the resort, it is no secret that the island needs jobs.
“If this project goes through all the hurdles, we can all be sure that the economy can benefit from a humongous convention center,” he said.
Golden has been pushing to open a hotel and casino on St. Croix since 1999 but has come across many legal battles about coastal zones and land use permits, as well as fall-outs with previous lenders.
On Tuesday, Golden said that he continued to persevere with the plans for the resort because he believes in St. Croix and has a special love for the island.
While he currently lives in New Jersey, Golden said he spends a lot of time on St. Croix and will move his family here soon.
“In my heart I know that this is something that St. Croix needs, and I want to help,” he said.
– Contact reporter Fiona Stokes at 714-9149 or email fstokes@dailynews.vi.
