Caribbean Riviera to anchor eastern region’s economic boom

$1.9 billion mixed-use development to help create 42,500 jobs over 10-year period; 10 potential investors line up

By FRANCES RYAN

Gov. Luis Fortuño’s administration is betting on the transformation of the old Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba into a Caribbean Riviera to catapult the eastern region’s economy with the creation of some 42,500 jobs over a 10-year period and an investment of $1.9 billion, Portal del Futuro Director Jaime González told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS.

González acknowledged the ambitious plan is easier said than done, but stressed the big benefits if the bet pays off.

“This plan is a proven concept that has worked in other regions. Puerto Rico has all the necessary attributes to successfully become a high-end tourism-entertainment destination; in some instances it has even better attributes than some places that already exist,” he said, referring to other similar high-end destinations such as Grand Casino, Monte Carlo; Atlantis, Bahamas; and Genting Sentosa, Singapore. This would be the first of its kind in the region.

“This project will put Puerto Rico on the global tourism map,” he said.

Before any construction can begin, the government must first clear land title issues—negotiations are already underway to BLOCKED three parcels from the Navy—and successfully BLOCKED gaming-law amendments that would give the proposed Caribbean Riviera district the incentives necessary to lure global high rollers.

The Navy wants to raise at least $65 million from three parcels of land, covering roughly 3,000 acres it controls at the former Ceiba base; it had been planning to sell them to the highest bidder shortly. González said now that Navy officials have agreed to postpone the sale, the island government will begin negotiations for the land.

Once the land issue is settled and the legal groundwork is in place, González said the administration has identified 10 potential investors who have already expressed interest in the Caribbean Riviera concept.

“All we need is one investor and there are at least 10 of them who have expressed interest. Some of them are investors and/or development partners on other similar projects such as Sun City in South Africa and Atlantis in the Bahamas,” said González, adding one of the administration’s main goals is to avoid parceling out the land to leverage the area’s maximum potential.

“We have to move away from the old mentality of parceling out the land to avoid having a repeat performance of the Ramey Base in Aguadilla,” González explained. “This project will enable us to leverage gaming not as a basic gambling activity, but rather as an economic engine to propel the development and sustainability of a world-class enclave, focus on job creation, enhance the tourism brand of Vieques, Culebra and Puerto Rico and utilize the inherent amenities of the Roosevelt Roads property to articulate a compelling vision for Puerto Rico and the region.”

Most importantly, González said, the Caribbean Riviera will deliver a true opportunity for sustainable job creation. While the Roosevelt Roads base was in operation, it supported 2,000 direct jobs and another 1,000 or so indirect jobs in the neighboring communities. The economic activity of surrounding municipalities depended heavily on the base’s operations and has plummeted since its closure in April 2004.
“Imagine what kind of job creation, economic bonanza the region will see with a world-class project like this. Job creation will be a part of the area’s sustainable economic activity,” the Portal del Futuro chief said.



Riviera plan would reach offshore islands

Included in the Fortuño administration’s plans for the Caribbean Riviera are a 2,500-room hotel, a grand casino and entertainment complex, an adjacent airport, a cruiseship port and passenger-ferry terminal, which would link the resort to Vieques and Culebra. From a tourism standpoint, the Caribbean Riviera may sound like a departure from an earlier Fortuño plan to include the Ceiba development as part of the Golden Triangle.

Instead, González said, it is an evolution of that concept, an opportunity to enhance the tourism brand of the island by incorporating the entire eastern coast into the tourism-development plans.

“By adding Vieques and Culebra to the Riviera concept, we are expanding our tourism footprint in the region in an integrated manner,” González said. “By the time the Caribbean Riviera project is completed, it would have added a high-quality gaming venue; a Riviera-BLOCKED destination resort; another international airport and a cruise port facility; a partnership initiative with Vieques and Culebra; and stewardship with the Conservation Trust.



González went on to say the first step would be for the project’s consultants to firmly establish the planned development’s “footprint.” He said it is possible the government will just need two of the three parcels the Navy is selling. The plans will likely increase the value of the Navy property, so that will be an issue in negotiations with the Navy, González said.

The Navy still spends $10 million a year to maintain the shuttered base, so another possibility is for the local government to cover those expenses as a “down payment” on the property, he added.

The Commonwealth government and Navy are still also working out the transfer of the deep-water harbor facilities at the former base, and a number of other negotiations, he added.

Creating a magnet for high rollers

The project also calls for the creation of a gaming district, which would allow the huge casino being planned to operate with greater flexibility than existing gaming rules. This would require legislation to set the rules for gaming within this special district, which is another key hurdle the project must clear to begin to get off the ground.

González wouldn’t discuss the required legislation in detail, except to say it would have to allow the casino to compete against other exclusive gaming destinations like Monte Carlo, Monaco; Sun City, South Africa; and the Atlantis development in the Bahamas, and would need to ease restrictions on betting limits and the types of games available.

“The financial motor behind this project is the gaming industry, the entertainment industry,” González said. “We need competitive gaming laws or this isn’t going anywhere.”

González said several of the island’s east-coast mayors from both the New Progressive and Popular Democratic parties back the plan, but it has sparked opposition by community groups such as the Ceiba Development Alliance.

The Navy left its Ceiba base in 2003 when it abandoned its Vieques training ground following protests sparked by the accidental killing of a civilian security guard during Navy war games in 1999.

 

 

 

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