| The Gentle Island | | Print | |
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Page 1 of 2 From The Financial Times, 10 Nov 08
Edwin Frank readily admits that he suffered nightmares for months after Hurricane Ivan destroyed his home and those of nine out of 10 of his fellow Grenadans in September 2004. "There were 39 deaths at the time and probably another 100 subsequently as a result of things like lack of medication and shock," he recalls. "In fact we were all in a state of shock. We thought it would be at least 10 years and more likely 15 before we could recover." Today, Frank not only has a new home but, as the public relations officer for Grenada’s tourist board, is even able to joke about the disaster. "People say it was the work of the devil since it showed no mercy to the churches but left most of the rum shops intact."His cheerfulness is a sign of the island’s swift recovery – one so impressive that Dwight Venner, governor of the East Caribbean Central Bank, called it a model of its kind. Success depended on several factors: swift and effective outside aid, including $25m from the US; the spur of being scheduled to host some of the matches for the Cricket World Cup, held this past spring; a government commitment to tourism and new service industries; and heavy investment by several property developers and high-end hotel chains. At Egmont Point, at the island’s southern tip, Resort Group International is building Grand Harbour Grenada, a group of 54 townhouses and apartments, priced from about $520,000, with spa, fitness centre, restaurant and moorings for 26 boats. And at nearby Bacolet Bay, an eponymous development company has plans for a collection of cottages, villas and flats priced from $400,000-$3m (Grenada property is typically quoted in US dollars) with a host of amenities and set in 41 acres of tropical gardens. Prickly Bay will see the construction of $4m marine houses designed to look like super yachts at anchor with linked pools stretching across the 200 metre-long site, while a 360-acre expanse at Levera Bay, in the north of the island, is marked for a $125m eco-tourism project with a hotel and villas surrounded by natural trails. The Four Seasons group will manage a 125-bedroom hotel and 60 villas planned at Mount Hartman Bay and Ritz-Carlton is partnering with Port Louis Trading Company on a 400-berth yacht club and marina. British developer Peter de Savary also has two projects under way: the Mount Cinnamon complex above Grand Anse beach, which has 21 properties left for sale, and the Port Louis marina village, a $522m scheme on the edge of Grenada’s capital St Georges, which will include more than 200 apartments and villas, priced from about $520,000-$6m, plus a hotel and spa, shops, bars, restaurants and moorings for yachts of up to 300ft. De Savary first cam to Grenada as a boy of eight when his family lived in Venezuela but, in spite of extensive interest elsewhere in the region, he hadn’t ever returned until March of last year. "I’m 63 now and I wanted to do one more Caribbean project before I got too old and ran out of energy. I few all over and saw some wonderful locations but I couldn’t find anything that just clicked, somewhere I wanted to spend a lot of time myself, until I came here." |
