Planning chiefs have granted permission for the owners of The Westin to build a 10-storey hotel block with 234 guest rooms and a conference centre at its resort in Grand Cayman.
Invincible Investment Corporation’s $153 million expansion project also includes an offsite carpark with 350 spaces near Sunshine Suites, accessible using a shuttle or valet service.
This is the second application for a major expansion on the Crown-owned beachfront 8.6-acre site after the planning board rejected a similar proposal in 2020.
The latest plans include a hotel tower with a restaurant, lounge, fitness and wellness facilities, laundry, and rooftop bar with landscaped pool and deck.
A second building will feature a sub-divisible conference facility and ballroom.
The Central Planning Authority granted approval subject to 29 conditions which must be met before any work begins at the site.
They include the presentation of a new traffic-impact assessment, details of offsite parking, a revised site plan, landscape plan, construction operations plan, site boundaries and more.
The authority said it approved the application because the new buildings comply with the relevant requirements, such as setbacks, site coverage, density and building height.
During the 5 July meeting of the Central Planning Authority when the plans were considered, a local landowner objected to proposed access to and from the offsite carpark.
Attorney Robert Jones, representing Meow Ltd which owns Cayman Falls shopping centre across the road from the Westin, said the company granted easement previously, but additional use would be unlawful.
The resort “does not have right of way over my client’s parcel”, he said, describing it as a “fundamental problem”.
The conditions of approval, published on Tuesday, 25 July, consider the objection and request the removal of access from West Bay Road across the northern boundary of the private land.
At the same meeting, Joe Gould, managing director of Invincible Investment Corporation, requested an offsite parking provision variance from the regulated 50% to 90%.
He described onsite parking with as “robbing valuable waterfront land better situated for tourism development”.
He added that offsite parking would provide greater benefit to the resort guests and neighbours who would have access.
The planning authority approved the variance, saying, “Hotel operations have evolved globally and in order to maximise valuable hotel land, the option of valet parking utilising offsite parking facilities is common.”
In her analysis before the meeting, Gina Ebanks-Petrie, director of the Department of Environment, highlighted “moderate adverse impacts on ecology”.
She recommended conditions to minimise those effects, such as introducing turtle lighting, climate-resilient design features and adopting best management building practices.
The planning authority’s conditions of approval include a turtle friendly lighting plan and proof that no turtle nests on site will be negatively affected during the build.
The existing Westin resort, built between 1994 and 1999, includes a five-storey hotel with 343 guest rooms, a pool, a spa facility, meeting and conference space and two restaurants.
It is positioned between two low density developments – the Villas of the Galleon to the south and the governor’s residence to the north.
The planning application was first presented on 12 Oct. last year and was adjourned three times before being approved.
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