7MB hotel gets go-ahead for 10-storey tower
(CNS): The Central Planning Authority has given conditional approval to the owners of the Westin hotel on Seven Mile Beach for a $153 million redevelopment project that includes a ten-storey tower block on its current 8.5-acre site. But given the increase in rooms, to meet the planning requirement the application by Invincible Investment includes offsite parking at a vacant lot by Sunshine Suites.
According to the CPA minutes for the 5 July meeting, there are a number of conditions which must be met before work begins, including the submission of an updated traffic-impact assessment and the installation of turtle-friendly lighting.
However, it was approved because it complied with the setback, site coverage, density and building height rules. The CPA was also satisfied that the additional 385 parking spaces, which will be across the West Bay Road, were sufficient to meet planning rules.
“The Authority is of the view that hotel operations have evolved globally and in order to maximize valuable hotel land, the option of valet parking utilizing offsite parking facilities is common,” the CPA stated. “The Authority noted the comments from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism which indicated the importance of the additional hotel room stock and conference facility space on the site, which necessitated the request for off-site parking and shuttle service.”
The CPA said the objections to the project did not raise sufficient grounds for refusing permission.
There will be no vehicular access from West Bay Road across the northern boundaries of Cayman Falls, the owners of which had objected to the project because of the potential access issues. During the meeting, the owners had said that while it had previously granted access, the Westin resort does not have right of way over the plaza.
As well as turtle-friendly lighting and proof that no turtle nests on site will be negatively affected during the build, the Department of Environment’s technical advisors urged the developer to use climate-resilient design features. They pointed out that the project is likely to both contribute to climate change and be affected by it.
The DoE’s main concerns, given that the site is already man-modified, are the massive sand reserves at the location and the removal of those reserves to construct a new pool and deck area.
“The reserves are important to the resilience of the beach system and are a natural source of sand which replenishes the beach profile after major storms,” the DoE experts said. “A significant amount of sand may result from the excavation of the foundations and pool. Once excavated and removed from the beach system, these sand reserves can never be recovered, making the beach system increasingly more vulnerable to erosion, which is exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, especially sea-level rise.”
They urged the developers to keep all excavated sand on-site and place it beyond the high water mark to retain sand reserves and create depth in the beach profile.
See the minutes of the CPA meeting held on 5 July CNS Library.
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Category: Business, development, Local News, Tourism
So every time a car is valet parked across the road, that’s 3 road crossings:
1 for the car to be parked.
1 for the valet to return to the hotel.
1 for valet or driver to fetch the car.
Imagine the impact on traffic flow. I see gridlock coming to WB road unless another eye sore overpass is built.
Westin= 👎🏻
I’m only one tourist but I can go to other continuous construction sites a lot more cheaply than going to Cayman, if you get my drift!
Your point is perfectly valid; yet here you are, commenting on stuff about Cayman, because it’s where you *want* to go.
Not true, I left three years ago but still read to keep up with the continuing decline in the island I loved for 20 years.
Totally agree! Cayman is done in my eyes. Was just down on holiday and all it is now is one big construction site everywhere you look. Spent good money to see what? Concrete, cranes, high rise buildings, congestion. Not returning. No longer looks or feels like an island.
Totally agree. The island is now just a construction site. Who wants to pay $$$$ to holiday with that madness. Thought we were going to an island not a city.
why was the calico jacks taking out of business.and now a non caymanian is in control of it .because our government hates to see the caymanians make ends meet .
I gave you a thumbs up for effort, however it is my understanding that Mr. Dart bought Calico Jacks in order to kill it, because it was making too much racket for his Kimpton Seafire hotel.
Much as it pains me to say, Mr. Dart is a Caymanian.
Kill it, except for the part where is currently being renovated, presumably to be reopened.
Is it or is it not dead and has been so for six years?
What would you call it? Slow resurrection?
Calicos closed in 2020, something called a pandemic or something like that. Don’t trust my memory though, maybe ask google.
Heard public beach will no longer be public within a year. Either will the refurbished Calico Jacks.
You hear a lot of shit, don’t you?
Would someone please explain what the deal is regarding Dart hotel properties not having to give the government the 13% tax? I saw it referred to in the comments. Do guests pay the 13% “tax” but it never is forwarded to the government? And is this only for the Kimpton,Comfort Suites,Palm Heights and the new Indigo? Not the Westin?
https://www.dart.ky/news-and-media/media-release-third-amendment-to-the-nra-agreement-executed/
Why do we keep building on an island that will be underwater in 30 or so years and too hot to inhabit anyway, according to the ‘activists’. Oh that is of course if the new super intense hurricanes don’t flatten the island. It’s as if no one is listening to all the experts.
There is money to be made, and very little long-term view. Why? Because those who are making money here don’t live here, and never will.
Also, our government only looks are far ahead as the next election, when they will likely be ousted for the previous party-in-power. Rinse/repeat.
10 story buildings need to go higher. Why not 30 stories? WE could save the swampland by allowing taller buildings and freeing up more land space. That is how we will save the swampland. We could start with apartments at $250,000-$500,000. WHAT A VIEW
Here here! 30 is nice but 50 story big black tower with two rotundas at bottom shaped like balls would erect global recognition.
Yes, especially in Dubai.
Tower of Sauron.
Build it and they will come.
Everyone forget about four projects that govt has agreed with NDA attached. What scum, elected officials, don’t worry u get a turkey at Xmas, their kids get a penthouse suite.
Kind nahman
sarcasm?
What fire department on GC is prepared for a fire in a 10 story or 30 story building?
No thanks, I won’t be staying in one of those.
The people who approved this should hang their heads in shame. Congratulations you just destroyed the Cayman Islands by allowing this ten storey monstrosity right on the beach. Many more to come I am sure.
mother nature will solve the problem.the wise man built on solid ground not sand.
another step to turning Cayman into little Miami. Hopefully the continued beach erosion makes all these moderns day pharaohs pyramids unprofitable.
You live a sorry life, why would you want beach erosion just to spite someone else.
Indeed it would be of grand gesture if the Westin gave back to the community recognizing Caymanian culture at this site. It behooves me to put forward that their signature premier bar should be named after the champion of the people, the heart of gold, the gentlemen of gentlemen, the noble civil servant I’m talking about the one and only Big Mack McKeeva. I say Mack Daddy McKeeva Bar and Lounge has a nice ring to it made of rich mahogany and fine crafted leatha.
No female bar staff
27 @ 11:56am – Your mockery aside. Westin could do honour to the legendary Galleon Beach Hotel (on which site the Westin sits) by restoring the inclusive, inviting atmosphere for all, guests and locals alike for which the Galleon’s beach bar was known and loved for decades. Where locals sat side by side with tourists every day and on occasion share the bar with the likes of Bon Jovi band, Jimmy Buffett, Roseanne Cash, Tommy Lee/Heather Locklear, etc., etc., themselves enjoying a casual beach drink or bar-b-cue and a hassle-free escape from celebrity.
Hey Westin, how about welcoming back that local vibe!
Where locals sat side by side: “… with Tommy Lee/Heather Locklear” – repusive, misognists. No I do not need to go back to ‘the day!’ No, we don’t need to welcome back that local vibe!
Lol
The present CPA will approve ANYTHING & EVERYTHING under Directive from Government!!
Get those consultant fees!
Fees paid to overseas consultants , whose work is imported free of duty, another loss to CIG, another blow to local consultants.
Now if only they’d do something about the he mold in their guest rooms….
it hasn’t changed?
Hopefully the parking situation at the Westin will improve. The spots are tiny and it turns out there is no CCTV. Earlier this month a tour bus destroyed my front bumper causing $2,500 in damages.. Hit and run job as I’m sure the driver knew there was no CCTV in the area.
Marriott is the same. It’s a deliberate policy so they can wash their hands of anything that happens and not have to waste their time and funds providing safety outside of the 4 walls.
Planning notice of proposal and meeting were not sent by registered mail to all registered property owners in the vicinity. The neighborhood has a right to register their questions, concerns and/or grounds of objection, not just the mall owner.
9:06 am If you feel you were entitled to a notice of the application, please call the Planning Department with your Block and Parcel and they will advise if you fell within the notification radius. The law provides for service of notice by registered mail which was done in this case, but worth the call to be sure. Please keep in mind that if your land register doesn’t have your current and correct address, the notice may have gone elsewhere. Also note that the Post Office is notorious for delays in their registered mail service.
Sorry but Planning doesn’t follow the land law, they follow the wishes of the developer. They let the developer decide what part of the land the need to use whether it allows them to notify within the radius or not.
Going to need some evidence
Sorry, you fall outside the radius I just arbitrarily set.
Retrospective planning permission for the tunnel on WBR being lengthened to accommodate the 50 level building that IS going to happen, govt and NDA, I just hope that govt remember that they prob owe money to Disney for the dock that ain’t happening.
i love the shade these buildings provide. i like tunnels too.
Yes, and soon we won’t be bothered by the glare off the sea or its breezes as we stew inside the circle of rich people looking down on our community.
For first world guests seeking valet stress, armed robberies, cross-walk near-misses, and long wait times to find and retrieve rental cars. Must be part of this broader “Reconsider Cayman Travel” campaign that the CPA seem to be running.
Ecocide.
Thank god, a lot more of the beach needs to be redevelopment. Marriott? Need to knock down and put a 10 storey building further away from the beach.
I’d approve the plan based upon existing planning requirements but the parking is way too far away and for that reason I’d deny it.
You need the exercise. Stop whining
great news and fully planning compliant.
Wayne fails again! 10 storeys of cement dumped on Seven Mile Beach
Good for them. Anything to counter Mr Dart.
Although they could offer lower drink prices for locals and Chamber members.
Oh locals are allowed there ? Thought that ended with the plandemic
Just bring your money and spend it. That’s all it takes,
and leave your magic beans at home.
Dart will soon purchase the hotel after they finish increasing the sale price through this development, right now it’s not attractive to Dart
Fairly confident that if Dart had any concerns about the competition they wouldn’t have granted permission for access from the offsite parking to WBR.
Maybe read the minutes?
Private beach soon come.
https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/05/westin-to-dump-beach-closed-signs/
all beaches are private(to high water mark) except public beaches. always has been.
Bullshit. The King owns all beaches up to the high water mark. Its free use for everyone.
He/she means down to the high water mark.
As real estate booms, Caymanians question who their islands are building for.
January 26, 2022
The contrast between soaring property sales and community discontent has become a point of national conversation, recognized by Premier Wayne Panton. In brief, colloquial terms, “Cayman gone,” Panton told Parliament in late November, parroting a common local lament.
https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2022/01/cayman-foreign-investors-identity-crisis/
All the tax generated money from all hotels, restaurants, condo’s, etc., etc. goes only to Caymanians and no one else. Not even those who pay the most. That’s where the million a day to pay for Civil service(Caymanian welfare), the 20-30million a year for Cayman Air, 5-10 million a year for the Cayman turtle farm, the free gas, etc., etc. comes from. Yes you must be part of the “club” to get your share of the booty so join up soon.
You must have missed that former PPM leader Kurt Tibbetts gifted Dart the 10% government hotel tax from all their hotel properties for 30 years starting in 2016. So their portfolio won’t contribute a nickel in hotel tax to public receivables until after 2046. Import and Stamp Duty, waiver benefits were also capped but no government regime since has kept a running accounting of that write-down. The recent $50mln Ritz Reno would have eaten $11mln of fixed waiver budget, deduct the forgone duty for the entire construction materials of Kimpton, Kimpton Residences, stamp duty, Kaaboo, Indigo Bay. Palm Heights, Comfort Suites, old Hyatt refits. We should have run that waiver budget down to zero years ago. The tourists are being ripped off, and so are we. Meanwhile, Dart are trying to spin their $2.1mln contribution to R3 as a proportionate community offset while quietly banking tens of millions a year off our leaders who couldn’t/can’t read and sign(ed) epically one-sided deals. We don’t see a penny.
Mackeeva and Kurt should both be tarred and feathered! Kurt was sneaky with it, but he was a real sucker too! Check out how much land he now owns across all three islands!!
Gifted? Hardly.
So, no on-site parking that every other development is required to have.
kenny’e electric buses soon come!….
cns: chase on update on this fairytale btw…
Soon come a day when the resorts and wealthy condos own most of Seven Mile Beach and we must pay for access to even cross their “properties”.
If Caymanians don’t have an exit plan now, they should start one tonight.
No stopping this train.
Very true. Middle class Caymanians should be thinking very thoroughly about where you will settle in the future because it won’t be on these Islands.
Having land will not help as developers will build around you if you dig your heels in and will sink the price of your parcel in the process.
We will all wake up one day in the near future, before our kids are grown up and finish their schooling no doubt and realise this place has left them by and they have no future hear other than to earn some tax free money to set themselves up in another country just like regular expats.
Beggars can’t be choosers. Most people (Caymanians included) are too busy working for their own futures to listen to those who don’t and can’t keep up. Telling those who have come here to build a better life that you might have to move somewhere else to have a better life? Most of us will wake up to a good life as will our kids because we spend so little time complaining.
Middle class everyone on this island.
Wrong. Its actually a growing lower class, a shrinking middle, and a rapidly increasing higher class.
The middle class soon gone.
Tower of Babbel
Hurray CPA has paved the way for 10-storey development – now we can look for Schilling to do one on Brac -LOL
But first, the lagoon bungalows at Little Cayman will come