March 23, 2001 – The St. Croix Chamber of Commerce has come out squarely in support of the Public Finance Authority's proposal to develop a government-backed hotel of 300 to 400 rooms on the island and has asked to meet with Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to discuss it.
Chamber president Carmelo Rivera said that the chamber board believes the project "would be a tremendous boost for the island of St. Croix."
PFA executive director Amadeo Francis said Tuesday that he, authority financial adviser Kent Bernier and chief legal counsel Paul Gimenez have been named as a committee negotiate with interested parties about ways the PFA can help in the construction of a hotel that would serve as the anchor for tourism development on St. Croix. Francis made the comment after a meeting of the authority board at Government House on St. Thomas.
Rivera told the Source Friday that, so far, the chamber "has not been involved with the PFA in the discussions and planning of this project." In the light of the information that emerged from the authority meeting, the chamber has "asked for a meeting with the governor for the first week of April," he said.
"There is no question that the chamber of commerce can be very helpful in creating a public-private partnership in developing the proposed hotel/conference center," Rivera said.
"My understanding is that it is not unusual in this type of transaction for the investor/developer to provide all the monies necessary to develop the project, although the government may participate in the risk to some degree," he said. "In unproven markets such as St. Croix, it is common for the government to participate with the developer … especially in a project of this magnitude."
Rivera added that it is "strongly recommended that a professional hotel management group manage the operations of the facility, not the government," noting that there are numerous instances in which this approach has proven successful.
A chamber release said the project "is more important than most" to St. Croix because:
– It will generate hundreds of construction jobs initially and many year-round jobs once the hotel is in operation, thus bringing "sorely needed revenues to our families, merchants and … the cash-strapped territorial government."
– It will expand the appeal of St. Croix as a conference venue as well as vacation destination, thus attracting additional visitors.
– Expanding the island's hotel capacity will increase the likelihood of attracting cruise ship home porting, convention business and additional airline service, thus broadening and increasing the territory's tax base.
– A large "premier name" hotel "will likely attract other investors who will want to piggyback on the advertising dollars the premier name will spend."
Francis said the PFA, which is responsible for the territory's capital bonding efforts, has looked at "several approaches" to the project. Citing confidentiality as key to negotiations, he declined to name any would-be players or sites being considered for the hotel. He said the authority intends to negotiate a fairly firm price for the construction and then go to the bond market for funding.
Rivera said, "We know how important this project is to the island of St. Croix and to the territory." The chamber release said a lack of hotel rooms and conference facilities now "impedes the attraction of overnight visitors and airline passengers."
Especially in light of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport expansion, the Turnbull administration sees a need for such a hotel, Francis said. Noting that the island now has about 1,100 hotel rooms, he added, "You've got to create a demand" for the airport.
According to Rivera, the chamber does not have a stand on whether the new facility should include a casino. However, he added personally, "If that is what it takes to make this project a successful venture for St. Croix, I would say let's do it."
The chamber release said the board and membership "look forward to working with the governor, members of the Public Finance Authority and community leaders to help make this project a reality in the immediate future."
Francis said the board wants to "fast-track" the project, which the governor was authorized to pursue in the Omnibus Act passed by the 23rd Legislature in December.
Rivera said the chamber would like to see the project move forward on a really fast track. "Let's do it today," he said.
