Unfinished hotel now wants licence for 7MB dock
(CNS): The developers of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a ten-storey hotel currently under construction at the southern end of Seven Mile Beach, have made an application for a watersports dock, which was not part of the original project. Although there is no specific policy against docks along Grand Cayman’s famous beach, they are very rare due to their potential impact on marine life.
The application for a coastal works licence has been made by Pageant Beach Hotel Ltd, which claims that when the resort is finished, it will be the largest hotel in the Cayman Islands.
According to a recent print advertisement placed in the Cayman Compass, the application submitted to the Ministry of Sustainable Development is for a dock that is 10 feet wide by 138 feet long seaward of the high water mark. Anyone wishing to comment has until 28 August to do so, including those who object to the proposal regardless of where they live. The work, if permitted, will be on crown property, which belongs to everyone.
Few other details about the proposed concrete dock have been revealed, but the application indicates that the developer wants to use the dock for the hotel’s watersport operations, including docking a large catamaran which will offer trips to guests and visitors.
Although there are a number of docks currently in the area and more applications being made at the very South End of Seven Mile Beach on the edge of the George Town Harbour area, this addition to the hotel project would be north of those existing docks.
While the application states that vibratory hammers and silt screens would be used during construction to mitigate impacts on the marine environment, as noted by the Department of Environment on numerous occasions, such measures can only offer limited protection, and as a result, the marine environment will be impacted during construction.
Once finished, the dock is likely to limit light and interfere with water circulation. The noise of watercraft and heavy activity around the dock will have a direct impact on the marine life in the area.
The hotel project has been under construction for more than six years after it appeared to stall following the initial clearance and ground breaking due to financial issues. Then, with the arrival of COVID-19, work ceased altogether and did not begin again until 2023, when the developers secured new financial partners.
The 190-room hotel’s opening date is now proposed to be 2025. There is also a residency section with 88 ‘condo-hotel’ guest rooms and 76 one-, two- or three-bedroom suites, which could also form part of the available rental stock for the tourist sector.
The developers have said in promotional material that there will be six restaurants, three resort-style swimming pools, a 12,000-square-foot spa and fitness centre, as well as a 25,000 square-foot indoor-outdoor conference area.
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Category: Business, development, Local News, Tourism
The French company and the local contractor are the best people to work for, as the site is well managed and very upbeat. We hope they always stay here doing more jobs. Thank you Big A
Wow sounds like some good PR for that project.
You have to admit that the concrete form work is of seriously good quality.
Compare to the other ICF covered thing next to Dixie Cemetery.
That is correct as they are the very best contractors in Cayman, these other ones can not keep up with big A crews, we are the best!
Word is that this company will be building the new cruise dock & port.
This huge monstrosity has been ill conceived from the start for such a small parcel of land.
What will happen to West Bay Road when there is an avalanche from the unsupported pile of dirt that is about 20ft high right at the edge of the road opposite the old HSBC building? Will a hurricane wash the dirt away?
NIMBY’s prevail. Sad you oppose, without real evidence, a development that would benefit the area.
The Cayman Island’s first cruise ship on land! Never been a better time to buy, unless you’re a sea creature. It’s your time to die.
Ahh, I see that you, too, have managed to traverse the yoga guru>bartender>realtor pipeline. Such torturous testing criteria that thousands may have tried, but only the vast majority of said thousands have managed to prevail. 😂
The pinnacle of the Caymanian Success Story is dive master to real estate company boss.
Even Divemaster to Trust Fund directorship provider. Now THAT is a success story.
That purple marker in the image is in front on Kailani development in front of Kirk’s. Grand Hyatt is well north of that, after the cemetery and the Wharf.
Not sure who messed up here.
KilaniI seems to have stalled..maybe they need the same team as Hyatt.
That’s because its NCB and they’re going down the pan
NCB Going down the pan, seriously..?
Why do you say that.?
Yes get our team and we will do way better.
The ICF at Kailani was exposed to the elements for 3 years. Typically only supposed to be exposed for 90 days before it starts to break down.
How about the old Hyatt wreckage…apparently 20 years of open elements is required to turn it into an artful premium boutique hotel…
9.08am The Hyatt project was stalled even longer and the amount of salt water that washed into the foundation and sat there surely made the whole building less stable.
Name of the development on the old Almond Tree/ Tree House be cashing in on Hawai’ian references, to attract the worst kind of tourist: Clueless American’s.
“Kailani is a Hawaiian given name meaning ocean, from Hawaiian kai, and sky from Hawaiian lani. The name is rising in popularity in the United States,…”
Wikipedia
Name of the development on the old Almond Tree/ Tree House be cashing in on Hawai’ian references, to attract the American’s…..
“Kailani is a Hawaiian given name meaning ocean, from Hawaiian kai, and sky from Hawaiian Lani. The name is rising in popularity in the United States,…” Wikipedia.
*Could have named it something that has a reference to Cayman or the Caribbean , but no. It has to be something the yanks can relate to, like B.K. and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Great this project looks like it’s happening now after a long pause. I don’t see anything wrong with a dock at this location, it’s not exactly seven mile beach!
Bobo think of the issue already on SMB sand. Dont you think this will further deplete SMB let alone the negative impact on the marine life?
Btw i formally object for the record.
Thank you Mr Developer, just make the right moves and you will get anything your little heart desires.
Who are the developers and who is the Caymanian partner?
None of your business, so keep your nose out of it.
They have the money so that is enough to get things done in Cayman
This place has been blocking the blow holes in front of the water for 6 years with fencing.
I told the DEH/Planning and they didn’t care to do anything.
Ain’t no blow holes on that piece of coast Bobo.
Your wrong, theres blow holes in the back and you can go and swim in them.
Yeah bobo ya…
Perhaps you need to define your understanding of a “blow hole”.
I think they’re talking out of their blow hole!
Water shoots up during storms?
What do you want me to call it?
A puddle?
The elected members of Parliament
I suppose they’ll be submitting an application for a shrubbery next🙄
Why is there a foreign construction company doing the job under the guise of being a joint venture with a fairly new small Cayman company? Why are they just trying to hire “sub contract” labor off the street to do the work and not hire legitimate local companies? Why were they granted duty concessions yet not hiring local firms? Why is immigration just turning a blind eye to all this? Why isn’t the minister (Jon-Jon) of labor checking all this out?
You mean by Local firm, a Cayman company that then hires the same sub-contractors? Please have any out of work Caymanian construction workers respond.
What about local trade construction companies with business and trade licenses, or is it just the individual workers that are being hired from labor brokers?
Wonderful, will they get hired? Going to send some their today, whom do they contact? Where is your office and HR manager?
Plenty of Cayman companies contracted to do work on the project. No Cayman companies wanted to take over the project so a foreign investor applied and got all the necessary permits. Not exactly controversial is it?
Follow the money
rubber stamped by UEM or whatever they are
If this is the Treasure Island, it needs to be razed to the ground and fumigated. They are flogging a dead horse. Sounds like a money laundering scheme.
Read the artcle: The developers of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a ten-storey hotel currently under construction at the southern end of Seven Mile Beach
Announcement pending… Your wish will be granted.
First Heather Bodden’s application is approved .. now this application. Our marine environment is under attack.
What happened to the old Pageant Beach salt water “swimming pool” that used to be in that spot?
But this is all mostly iron shore and always has been (hence the old swimming hole). If there is any place to put a dock this would be it. As long as it’s on pilings and not a solid concrete structure that affects the flow of water.
Why are they permitted to use these artist’s renditions showing a full, sandy beach. There is no beach there. This is surely fraudulent advertising.
The Grand Hyatt does have something like a beach as show on the rendering. (Satellite images does seem like they dug up the iron shore)
The picture CNS have uploaded has the dock in front of the development that is beside the cemetery across the gas station.
Not the Grand Hyatt, not sure where the link comes from or if it is just the same developers.
Correct and well spotted. The one by Dixie Cemetery is Naul and co.