The National Park Service is seeking qualified companies that can rebuild lodgings at Caneel Bay in Virgin Islands National Park/NPS

Seven years after back-to-back hurricanes ravaged the Caneel Bay Resort at Virgin Islands National Park, and following years of legal wrangling, the National Park Service is beginning the search for a concessionaire to bring lodging back to the scenic setting.

The first step is to seek a "summary of qualifications" from companies that can rebuild, improve, and operate lodgings at Caneel Bay, which was pounded by hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. The concessaire at the time, EHI Acquisitions, LLC, never rebuilt the lodgings, trying instead to extend its lease to the grounds beyond September 2023. The Request For Qualifications is the prequalifying phase before Requests for Proposals (RFP) can be accepted by the Park Service. 

The Caneel Bay Resort was originally established by Laurance Rockefeller and Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. as one of its “Rockresort” locations in the mid-1950s. Caneel Bay Resort has historically represented an early model of eco-tourist luxury accommodations, according to the Park Service.

“Caneel Bay overnight accommodations provide a unique publicly offered lease opportunity with stunning ocean views along the north shore coastal landscape,” said Superintendent Penelope Del Bene. “The cultural and natural resources of the area are significantly important to the local communities.”   

Virgin Islands National Park will work with the operator of the site to ensure high quality accommodations and services to the public are prioritized. This lease will also help the park meet the goals of providing a 21st century visitor experience, setting the standard as a premier eco-destination, representing a model for sustainable management practices, and participating in a circular island economy for Virgin Islanders and visitors alike, a Park Service release said.

Under the agreement Rockefeller signed with the Interior Department in 1983, the Jackson Hole Preserve had free use of the property and its facilities for 40 years. At the end of that four-decade period, September 2023, the "Retained Use Estate" agreement dictated that the buildings and their improvements be donated to the National Park Service. 

While the Preserve initially held the RUE, it was passed down to other companies, and finally to EHI and its sister operation, Caneel Bay Acquisitions, LLC (CBI) in 2004. In 2019, EHI's principal, Gary Engle, offered to essentially terminate the RUE and sell the hurricane-battered resort to the federal government for $70 million, a move that raised questions of whether he was properly interpreting the terms of Rockefeller's RUE.

The matter wound up in court, and back in April a judge ruled that EHI had no right to demand $70 million for the property and its improvements.

Read the long, and at times convoluted, history of the RUE.

U.S. District Judge Cheryl Ann Krause's ruling cleared the way for the Park Service to move ahead with a redevelopment plan for the 150 acres that calls for a "21st century eco-resort" that could offer up to 166 overnight accommodations, which was the limit of the resort that was largely destroyed by the 2017 hurricanes. The plan did not, however, provide any detail for the lodgings or price ranges. It did call for day use areas for park visitors not staying at the resort, perhaps at Honeymoon Beach, Little Caneel Beach, and Caneel Beach. 

This RFQ is part of the phased reopening of the Caneel Bay property outlined by the Finding of No Significant Impacts (FONSI) that Virgin Islands National Park has been implementing since the VI District Court issued their decision of ownership of Caneel Bay Resort lands and improvements to the United States in April 2024. 

Tours to the Caneel Bay site for potential responders will be scheduled in early- to mid-November. 

The RFQ and additional information will be available at: National Park Service Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Caneel Bay Property (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)