On Monday I wrote a diary concerning the fight over developing Jekyll Island. I detailed how a politically appointed body that oversees a publicly owned state park (the Jekyll Island Authority) had chosen Linger Longer Communities as a partner in their quest to finally appease the desires of developers who want Jekyll Island. The proposal they have accepted- which is in the process of being “revised”- was made without any public input, even though it is a state park.
Also on Monday a lawsuit filed against the JIA by a rejected bidder was dismissed. In tossing the lawsuit, the judge acknowledged that very special consideration should be taken in protecting the island and suggested the JIA and LLC slow down the process. There’s no indication that either have any intention of doing that. It’s my opinion that they both feel the need to get started while the public attention is held by a national election and a very friendly Governor still sits in office.
The majority of people who took part in a survey done by savejekyllisland.org strongly disapprove of any plan that consists of big-scale NEW development- the citizens who own the park would rather see steady re-development that stays within existing footprints. Even a Guest Survey in 2006 by the JIA itself supports that view. After their selection LLC conducted some town hall meetings in an effort to appear concerned about what the public wants. It hasn’t stopped them from vigorously defending their desire to build a beach village on the currently open waterfront of the pristine main beach. They have publicly derided a sitting Senator who represents the district, essentially saying that even though opinion is on his side, he’s just an uninformed idiot. He isn’t; you can read and sign his resolution on jeffchapman.us.
The lawsuit was filed because in the RFP issued last year the JIA asked for proposals on a “town center” that would encompass 45 acres. The RFP mentioned “45 acres” eight times. The LLC winning proposal is to develop 64 acres. The rejected bidder deemed that unfair since he adhered to the original acreage. He had also whittled his cost to the state to $0; LLC is asking for a minimum $45 million, projected to possibly extend to around $84 million.
The JIA- and to belabor the point, a politically appointed body- asked for a public-private partnership vision. Funny enough, the public really wasn’t included in that request. As stated earlier, they had their own survey indicating that the public really doesn’t want expanded development on the publicly owned island. And a brand new 64-acre development is what the JIA and LLC deems a good response. Why stop at 45 acres when you can take 64? For that matter, once you start on the 64, what holds you back from more?
The obvious answer is that the state has mandated that only 35% of the island can be developed. But interestingly, there’s not really any definition of where that 35% is, other than not the south end (for background on the JIA trying to grab that area for developers, please read my earlier diary “the fight for Jekyll Island”). One of the reasons the public was surprised by the LLC plan is that people expected development to take place on existing properties. If the LLC build-on-the-beach proposal goes forth, what’s to stop them from continuing that trend? What if in the future they decide to mow down a hotel or some residential land that’s not on the waterfront, return it to an “undeveloped” state and put more condos and hotels on another stretch of beach? Kind of a swap, if you will. It isn’t that far fetched; LLC proudly boasts that they consider themselves in a long-term partnership of privately overseeing a publicly owned park, even saying “the master plan for the Village is part of a much larger strategy and management plan…” At some point you have to wonder when it becomes the JIA working for LLC- if it isn’t already.
What’s fascinating to me is that Jekyll is special because it’s mostly undeveloped and there are no giant clusters of hotels and condos on the beach. Yet all the LLC/JIA could come up with was a proposal to develop a giant cluster of hotels and condos on the beach. They claim it's an effort to increase visitation; I think the JIA needs a better marketing team.
Wade Shealy, the rejected bidder (who in my opinion had a fairly unlikable proposal also), said in an interview that he estimated his plan would generate a $500 million profit. His proposal, remember, was for 45 acres and no money from the state, as opposed to 64 acres and $45 million from the state. LLC hasn’t said what their profit is projected to be (that I can find) but, since their sister properties such as the Reynolds Plantation seem to make them a good amount of cash, I can’t believe it’s far off from Shealy’s. And it’s clear from their website that this project isn’t the end point for them, it’s the beginning.
But only if we allow it to be.