$110 Mill. Legendary Marina Resort Breaks Ground in Southeastern New Providence

As featured in The Nassau Guardian, written by: Chester Robards

The $110 million Legendary Marina Resort at Bluewater Cay will begin development in earnest six months from now, with the developers putting in sheet piles within the next three to four months and bringing in fill to raise the property another nine feet to meet specifications for future clients’ vessel insurance policies, Legendary’ s Vice President of Marina Developments Rodney Chamberlain told Guardian Business yesterday, following the groundbreaking ceremony for the project.

During his remarks at the groundbreaking, Chairman of Legendary Family of Companies Peter Bos explained that the goal is for Legendary Marina Resort at Bluewater Cay to be a hub for boaters to move about the rest of The Bahamas. The project also calls for the development of a dry storage facility, able to withstand strong storms.

Chamberlain said Legendary will develop the project to such standards that boaters will no longer have to move their boats back to Florida should a storm threaten, making the project a first-of-its-kind in The Bahamas.

“The problem is there isn’t a highway system connecting the islands. There isn’t a hub,” said Bos.

“You have the airport, you have this great airport … but you don’t have a highway system on the water and the problem is you gotta find a way to distribute the people [to other islands].”

Chamberlain added: “Right now, if you have a boat here in The Bahamas and a hurricane comes, your insurance plan requires you to bring it back to the United States or somewhere there and store it somewhere they approve. Everybody else in South Florida is doing the same thing, so you’d have no choice there’s really nowhere to go.”

He explained that dredging is the first critical step of getting the development of the marina started.

Chamberlain said the first phase is the completion of half of the dry storage facility and half of the marina with 100 percent of the dredging being completed. He said the second phase completes the marina.

Legendary Marina Resort at Blue Water Cay is being built in southeastern New Providence. The development is expected to feature premium engine service and general repair facilities; concierge and vessel provisioning services; 24-hour manned security; customized pre- and post- launch services, including freshwater wash down and engine flushing; and onsite amenities such as a club house, restaurant, and pool.

The developers have also committed to remediating the mangrove forests in the area and improving other parts of the area surrounding the property to the satisfaction of the surrounding community.

“We knew that we had to get buy-in from the folks who live across the way from us, because we want to be good neighbors,” said Chamberlain.

“We’ve heard all their concerns with the mosquitos. There was a lot of dumping going on around here. There were noises at night, lights, and there were concerns with security. Our development will satisfy a lot of those concerns.”

“We also heard a lot about the bonefishing around here. We’re going to open up this area. The original developer closed off the mangrove swamp. “As we come in, we’ll put in a flushing culvert and that’ll restore some of the bonefishing nursery area where that occurs, and help, hopefully, reduce part of the mosquito problem.”