Caneel Bay Resort, St. John, U.S. Virginia Islands/Flicker, Carolyn Sugg

The disclosure by Caneel Bay Resort’s Director of Communications Patrick Kidd that the resort would no longer accept guests in order to focus its attention on securing a 60-year, no-bid extension of its lease (a “retained use estate”) is troubling but not surprising.

This simply is more evidence of Caneel Bay Resort owner (Caneel Bay Incorporated) CBIA’s disregard for the needs of St. Johnians as it seeks a nearly $3 billion windfall offered by legislation sponsored by V.I. Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett.

Plaskett introduced her bill, H.R. 4731, in December 2017, within months after the territory was devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria and while most Virgin Islanders were focused on rebuilding their homes, their businesses and their lives.

Plaskett did not issue the customary press release, and The Daily News only learned of the Plaskett CBIA bill from a concerned St. Johnian.

As details about this legislation have emerged, more questions and concerns have arisen as to why Plaskett would seek to give CBIA a 60-year extension without requiring anything from CBIA in return.

Plaskett’s bill does not even require CBIA to rebuild the resort or adhere to any timetable for completing construction and reopening the resort.

Nor does Plaskett’s bill prevent CBIA from “flipping” the extension — which is worth billions — by selling it to a major hotel company.

In a recent interview with The Daily News, Plaskett claims she is only concerned about getting Caneel Bay reopened as soon as possible to provide jobs and “jump start” the St. John economy.

However, her move to give a nearly $3 billion windfall and a virtual “blank check” to the Connecticut-based private equity firm has achieved neither goal and does not seem in the best interests of St. Johnians or the V.I. territory as a whole.

In testimony before a congressional committee earlier this year, CBIA Managing Member Gary Engle refused to provide a timetable for rebuilding and reopening Caneel Bay Resort if Plaskett’s bill becomes law. Engle cited the need for various permits and the possibility of litigation as reasons for his reluctance to provide such a timetable. Engle has since indicated that “some” — an unspecified number — of Caneel guest rooms could be reopened as early as 18 months if Plaskett’s bill succeeds and that the entire resort could reopen in three years thereafter.

In a written statement to The Daily News last spring, CBIA representatives stated unequivocally that if Plaskett’s bill fails, CBIA could reopen and operate Caneel Bay Resort profitably as a mid-priced resort for the remaining five years of its ownership. Their statement reads in part:

“For its part, if CBIA does not get the extension of the RUE, it still has the ability to consider reopening a scaled down hotel operation for the remaining term of the RUE. It could use some of the insurance proceeds to remove debris, clean up the beaches, restore the remaining habitable 32 rooms (or slightly more) and profitably operate a small, mid-priced ($200 to $400 per night) hotel for the 5 years remaining on the RUE.”

That would have been the quickest and surest way to put St. Johnians previously employed by Caneel immediately back to work and bring more visitors to St. John to “jump start” the local economy. And that leaves us with this sad question: If Plaskett had said “no” to introducing this special-interest bill in the first place, would Caneel now be open?

Based on the above facts, we urge Plaskett to withdraw her bill so that CBIA can reopen Caneel Bay immediately, employ St. Johnians now and boost the St. John economy for the remaining five years of its ownership.