Desarrollos Hotelco Group, selected from five companies to redevelop the 124-acre ‘Club Med’ site — officially called the St George’s tourism development site — is more than half way through its exclusive negotiation period of 120 days, chairman of the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) David Dodwell said yesterday.

Mr Dodwell explained: “There is a 120-day due diligence period which began on June 9 and will conclude on October 8.”

Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell, when he announced the exclusive negotiation period with Desarrollos to the House of Assembly on May 25, said: “Desarrollos is an experienced ... real estate and hotel development group. The company was founded in 1997 and over the years Desarrollos has developed many commercial, residential and hospitality real estate projects in Latin America and the Caribbean region.”

He explained: “ ... the exclusive negotiation period will allow the Government and Desarrollos to meet with both internal and external stakeholders, negotiate terms, prepare the relevant documentation to finalise agreements to construct and operate a world class luxury resort development on the 124 acre St George’s tourism development site.”

Mr Dodwell called it a “massive job,” and reiterated his commitment to it. “We will make it work,” he said.

It is understood that representatives from Desarrollos Hotelco Group have been in Bermuda, although now work on the project is being conducted abroad.

“They are working now from overseas, and a lot of the principals of the company are involved,” he said.

Desarrollos Hotelco Group maintain a low-profile and do not appear to have a website. “But publicity right now would not be appropriate,” said Mr Dodwell. However, he pointed to their track record of hotel development. They include the Marriott Playa Grande and the Renaissance in Venezuela, and opening the 320-room Ritz Carlton Aruba in December, which includes a casino and spa. They also have announced that a Ritz Carlton and a JW Marriott will be constructed in the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2019 and 2020.

Mr Crockwell also told MPs when announcing the project that Desarrollos has “partnership agreements” with “renowned high-end luxury hotel brands and they will partner with a preferred management company for this project”.

While the group has a history that includes partnering with luxury hotel brands JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton, Mr Dodwell said: “They will be talking to a number of high-end brands.

“The brand affects a lot of the decisions — brands have their own requirements; the brand specifies right down to the matchbox cover,” he said. “And the management contracts can be for a very long period — for example, 95 years.” To separate from a brand can be a very messy ‘divorce’, he explained.

Originally a Venezuelan company, Desarrollos is now based in Aruba with presences in Miami and New York. They retain a presence in Venezuela.

Mr Dodwell said: “The expectation is that Desarrollos will use significant amounts of local expertise and labour as the project progresses.

“When they come back at the end of the 120-day period, the expectation is they will have requests for concessions.”

The BTA chairman said that the Authority and the Government were likely to view these requests with flexibility. “I think we’ve learned our lessons,” he said. “The red tape has become a red carpet. We see ourselves as a one-stop shop — the BTA and the Bermuda Government.”

The proposed development includes a 238-room hotel and the renovation of the 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed St George’s Golf Course.

The resort will also include:

• 16 hotel residences

• 24 golf villas

• 16 estate residences consisting of three and four bedrooms residences

• Spa and fitness centre

• Meeting rooms and ballroom located in Fort Victoria

• Casino

• Swimming pools

• Pool bar and grill

• A speciality restaurant located in Fort Albert

Attempts to develop the property include plans by Bazarian International Financial Associates to develop a Park Hyatt Resort, which was originally supposed to open in 2012. In October 2012 the contract with Mr Bazarian was terminated, and the Park Hyatt Hotel Act was repealed.

Originally built as a Holiday Inn, it changed into Loews, and was then taken over by Club Med. It closed in 1988, and was eventually imploded in 2008.