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Bridge Capital to redevelop abandoned Plumeria
Bridge Capital LLC announced yesterday its plan to redevelop the abandoned Plumeria Resort property in Achugao and restore it to its former glory as an EB-5 project.
In a statement, Bridge Capital said that, like many on Saipan, it has watched sadly as the Plumeria property has gone from a beautiful hotel to an eyesore over the last several years.
“Bridge [Capital] is excited to be bringing millions of dollars of additional investment into the CNMI to turn this ugly duckling back into a beautiful swan,” the statement adds.
Bridge Capital envisions the new development to have several new elements, “including a beautiful pool and beach area, numerous restaurants and a beach bar, a relaxing and indulgent spa, and an electronic gaming facility with slot machines.”
“Bridge has seen and experienced first-hand the current shortage of hotel rooms on-island. We are confident that redeveloping the Plumeria hotel will help address this critical need as the CNMI economy continues to expand and more and more tourists flock to our island paradise,” the statement adds.
The “EB-5” program, under which Bridge Capital plans to renovate the hotel, was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. It is administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The minimum qualifying investment in the U.S. is $1 million, but in high unemployment area or rural area in the U.S., the minimum qualifying investment is $500,000. The investor has to create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years of the immigrant investor’s admission to the U.S. as a Conditional permanent resident.
