554-Acre Caribbean Resort Under Way

PRASLIN BAY, ST. LUCIA-A 554-acre resort here is under development by DCG Properties, a locally based company whose founder and majority shareholder, Kierron Dolby, is the owner of Building Services Ltd., a United Kingdom-based international engineering and construction services-based company that has been in business for 27 years. Phase one of Le Paradis is planned to include an international four-star branded hotel with 232 rooms; conference facilities for up to 600 people; more than 100 luxury condominiums and ultra-luxury residences; a health spa; and a Greg Norman-designed golf course that will be operated by Troon Golf. The first third of the first phase will be operational by March 2007 in order to coincide with the World Cricket Championship held in the Bahamas/West Indies (St. Lucia is hosting a participating venue). Phase two will extend around the bay and include a marina, a marina village and 40-bed five-star Marina Boutique Hotel. The total development cost is upward of $130 million, according to local news reports. Dolby did not return a phone call seeking comment. He reportedly initiated plans for the development in 1998.St. Lucia is one of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, located midway down the Eastern Caribbean chain, between Martinique and St. Vincent, and north of Barbados. St. Lucia is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, with the Atlantic Ocean on its east side and the Caribbean Sea on it west side.The resort site is located 20 minutes from the international airport on the eastern coastline of St. Lucia. The site encompasses a three-mile coastline, small bays and peninsulas. From the shoreline, the land rises 610 feet. The island is also protected by a system of interlocking reefs that protect the bay from the Atlantic swell.