The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Opponents of the proposed $200m Rosewood Exuma project are ramping up efforts to mobilise support ahead of Friday’s second Town Planning Committee consultation on its revised application for preliminary site plan approval.

The Save Exuma Alliance (SEA), a collection of businesses from the island, is calling on residents to “show up and speak out”, arguing that the revised plans for the development raise concerns that deserve full public examination.

In a statement, the coalition of businesses, neighbouring islands and residents said the timing of the review makes it critical for residents to attend and ensure their concerns are formally recorded.

“This meeting is a critical opportunity for the public to raise concerns and questions. It’s important that the people of Exuma come out so the wider Bahamian public can see how they feel,” said the Alliance. It voiced concerns that without strong public participation, key issues raised in earlier consultations could go unaddressed. 

The group said it has been circulating information about the meeting across social media and community networks in an effort to ensure residents are aware of the date, time and location of the session.

The Alliance also renewed concerns about the integrity and adequacy of the consultation process surrounding the proposed development.

“Regardless, SEA continues to assert that the consultation process is deeply flawed because insufficient time was given to concerned stakeholders to properly review and get expert advice on the enormous amount of information that Yntegra filed in this process, much of which seems to contradict itself and other Yntegra statements,” said the Alliance.

Yntegra Group, the Miami-based developers of the proposed Rosewood Exuma resort on East Sampson Cay, announced last November it would file a revised site plan with the Town Planning Committee following community feedback and ongoing controversy surrounding aspects of the project.

The project has drawn sustained criticism from the neighbouring Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club, whose owner, Bob Coughlin, is part of the Save Exuma Alliance (SEA). Opponents have said the Rosewood resort is “vastly oversized” and warned that the development of a service dock in Sampson Cay’s north bay would destroy coral reefs, disrupt tidal flow and harm marine life. 

Yntegra Group, which is headed by Felipe MacLean, has consistently rejected and pushed back against these arguments. The Miami-based developer has asserted that its project will have a $1.6bn impact over 20 years, translating into $80m per year, along with an $834m boost to Bahamian economic output (GDP) and $336m in additional income for Bahamian workers over the same period.

This is equivalent to an average $41.7m GDP impact, and $16.8m in extra income, over that 20-year span. The increase in government taxes is forecast at $176m over two decades, with the Rosewood Exuma developer also projecting it will help create “533 full-time equivalent jobs annually” in construction, tourism and other industries.

The first public meeting on the revised site plan took place in Black Point earlier this month, with a second scheduled for Friday in George Town before the Town Planning Committee.