Plans to raze the Pink Beach Club and erect a new boutique hotel and condominiums have been submitted for in principle planning approval.

The $51.5 million development is set to include a 34-room hotel with two restaurants, six guest condominiums, two guest suites gym and spa facilities, a new beach club, two swimming pools and a residential building.

The Pink Beach Club on South Shore Road, Smith’s, was first opened in 1947 but harsh economic conditions and a declining number of visitors forced the club into receivership in 2010.

But earlier this year, it was announced that Canada-based Sardis Development Ltd had purchased the property and were committed to redevelop the site into a world class tourism destination.

The developer recently submitted applications to the Planning Department, one seeking final planning approval for civil works on the site and a second seeking in principle approval for the project.

An environmental impact assessment and statement (EIS) included in the application stated that almost all of the buildings currently on the site are to be demolished with new buildings being erected largely in their footprints.

A section of the EIS reads: “Following the demolition of almost all existing buildings on the entire site, the western lot will be dedicated to a 34-suite five star boutique hotel with a high quality gourmet restaurant and beach grill, fresh and salt water pols and access to the western beach and tennis courts.

“In addition, six luxury condominiums will be built, which will offer a form of low-density residential living that provides access to all hotel services and amenities.

“The development of the eastern 5.5 acres will include the construction of a detached residential building with groundskeepers cottage at the extreme eastern end of the proposed lot.

“Two existing buildings on this part of the site will also be renovated to create two luxury guest units.”

The construction of the hotel and beach club is listed as being in the second phase of development, following civil works, with the construction of the spa building and residential units listed as being in the third and fourth phases of development.

According to the application, the hotel will be divided into two three-story buildings located on the south west of the property.

The beach club will sit to the south of the hotel buildings, while a separate spa building and facilities building will be erected to the north.

The condominium buildings to be built on the site are two story in height, and will reportedly be comparable in size to the existing cottages on the property.

The project also includes a rehabilitation of the existing reverse osmosis plant, a new sewage treatment facility, parking for 54 cars and 52 bikes and new accesses to South Road.

While the proposed hotel has significantly fewer rooms than the existing club, which had 94 rooms, the smaller scale is hoped to create an “intimate and exclusive” feeling while reclaiming a significant quantity of open space.

The first stage of the project, consisting of the hotel and condominiums, is estimated to cost $44 million, while the residential and guest accommodations will cost a further $7.5 million.

The EIS stated that the design details for the building have not been finalised, but the architecture of the buildings is intended to be “Bermudian in character”.

The report also estimated that between 80 and 100 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the project, while around 56 people will be employed on the property once the hotel opens its doors.

Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell said the progress of the project was good news for Bermuda, adding that there are several other projects also in the works to reinvent and reinvigorate the tourism industry.

“This Government was elected to revive our economy and create jobs,” Mr Crockwell said. “The planned renovation of the Pink Beach property will bring foreign investment to the island and create local jobs in both the construction sector as the property is upgraded and in the running of the hotel once renovations are complete.”

Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) chairman Stuart Hayward said that the group is pleased to see the resurrection of the tourism site.

“Our preliminary comments are mostly favourable,” he said yesterday. “We particularly appreciate the inclusion of an EIS as part of the application.

“This process augurs well for the future as our Island becomes more densely built-up. We also applaud revisions to the original plans that indicate the new owner’s intent to protect and reactivate the agricultural land at the site.”

He said the development will likely be welcomed by the construction and hospitality sectors, but cautioned that in some other hybrid hotel and residential projects the residential units were built but not the hotel.

“We trust there will be an irrevocable agreement to build the hotel and have it operating before any private residences are built,” Mr Hayward added.