Baha Mar Ltd. president Don Robinson tells GlobeSt.com that all of the aforementioned components will cost about $2.4 billion and soak up about 400 acres. The remaining acreage is being reserved for a second golf course and additional residential components. Site work is scheduled to begin this year, with project financing expected in 2008 and completion in 2011.
The project's anchor is a new Caesars Resort Hotel by Harrah's that will have more than 1,000 guest rooms and the aforementioned casino, which will be the largest in the Caribbean. The remainder of the hotel and condo-hotel rooms will be housed in five other hotels, two of which already exist on the property.
There are actually three hotels currently on the property, the Radisson Cable Beach & Golf Resort, the Nassau Beach Hotel and Wyndham Nassau. The Radisson is receiving an $80-million makeover and will reopen later this year flying Starwood's Sheraton flag. The five-tower Wyndham Nassau will be shrunk to three towers and continue to be run by Baha Mar Resorts, and the Nassau Beach Hotel will be demolished completely, Robinson says.
There also is an existing golf course on the property but it is of municipal quality and size. As part of the initial phase, the course will be recaptured and, along with new land, will be used to create a new Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, Robinson says.
"We anticipate the [eventual] need for a second golf course and additional residential [on a portion of the 600 acres being held in reserve]," Robinson says. "Beyond that, we will see how the economics work and then make some choices on what else we might build on the remaining land."
The four Starwood branded and managed hotels will be the W Baha Mar, St. Regis Baha Mar, Westin Baha Mar, and the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort. All but the Sheraton are anticipated to include for-sale residential units.
As for the resort's overall layout, Robinson says there will be a tower on each side of the entrance. The one on the left will be the Westin Baha Mar and the one on the right will be the Caesar's. Behind the two towers, and closer to the beach, will b the W Baha Mar and the St. Regis Baha Mar. The convention center will sit adjacent to the Westin but will serve the convention needs of all of the brands, he says.
Baja Mar Resorts Ltd. owns 57% of the joint venture and Harrah's owns 43%. In November, when GlobeSt.com first wrote about the story, Harrah's initially was to only own a 33% stake and Starwood was to hold a 10% stake but Starwood decided it wanted to focus on management. The design team for the overall project includes MHA Studio of Los Angeles, an affiliate of Baha Mar Resorts Ltd., and Hillier Architecture of Princeton, NJ.
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