The owners of Kingston Bight on Little Cayman have put the site up for sale, after being granted planning permission to build a $35 million resort there.
According to a sales notice on the CIREBA real estate website, the asking price for the 3.3 acres of waterfront land on the southern coast of the island is US$7,995,000 (CI$6,661,223).
Following a meeting of the Sister Islands Development Control Board in March this year, the land’s owner, Peppercorn Investments Ltd., was granted permission to build a 42-bedroom boutique hotel, consisting of 12 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units, as well as a restaurant, wellness spa, beach bar, pavilions and huts, and seven pools.
The path to getting this permission from the planning board had not been smooth.
In 2021, the development company, owned by Matthew Wight, William Maines and Naul Bodden, applied for planning permission for the resort, which, at that point included 19 over-water bungalows along a dock that would have extended 450 feet out over the protected South Hole Sound lagoon.
That application was subsequently split into two, with the Development Control Board considering the on-land application separately from the over-water bungalows, for which the developers applied for a coastal works licence from Cabinet.
The prospect of the bungalows being built over the marine reserve led to hundreds of people signing a petition, launched by the Little Cayman District Committee of the National Trust, calling for the project to be stopped, which was submitted to Cabinet.
In February last year, Cabinet rejected the coastal works licence, putting an end to the plan to build the bungalows, while the Development Control Board approved the application for the land-based element of the resort.
However, eight months later, the Planning Appeals Tribunal quashed the board’s decision, on the grounds that it had failed to outline in detail why it had approved the application, and sent the matter back to the board for consideration.
That application was reheard by the board on 6 March. The minutes of that meeting were not published for almost five months, so the board’s decision to again approve the application was not publicly known until last month.
According to the sales pitch for the site, the planning permission would stand if the land, on Wonder Lane, off Guy Banks Road, is sold to new owners.
It states, “A realm of possibilities unfolds, as Kingston Bight holds planning approval for a small on-island complex. A testament to its potential, this property presents a lucrative investment prospect for those seeking development ventures or astute land preservation.”
The planning permission for the site granted by the Development Control Board is active for five years, and will expire in 2028 if construction has not begun by then.
The granting of approval of the application by the board came with a list of conditions, including submitting a revised parking site plan; carrying out a walkover survey to check for iguanas and their nests; that there be no mechanical clearing, heavy equipment, construction work or stockpiling of materials outside the parcel boundaries; submitting a stormwater management plan and a new landscape plan; and applying for a permit from the director of planning.
The CIREBA listing also highlights that structures already exist at the location, including two accommodation blocks, a restaurant and a waterfront bar, which, it says, “are steadfast foundations that beckon the visionary developer”.
In a brief statement issued via the estate agents Williams², in response to queries from the Compass, Peppercorn Investments Ltd said, “The land owners have decided to list the property with Williams² for sale, which presents an excellent investment opportunity on one of the prime development parcels in Little Cayman.”
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