Rosy – The Leisure and Entertainment
Capital of the World
By David Martin, Esq.
On May 15, 2008, the U.S. Navy rejected all bids made
for approximately 2,900 acres of the former Roosevelt Roads U.S. naval base,
according to a liaison in charge of the auction process. The planned public sale has been rescheduled
for the first quarter of 2009. This postponement presents an opportunity for
The acreage to be sold is a fraction of the total
8,600 acres contained on the base. The property
is one of the largest land assemblages in
In December 2004,
The Reuse Plan expressly states that the government’s
interest in tourism is “moderate.”[1] This echoes the Commonwealth’s Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, stating that the island’s
economic program seeks to “refocus the economy on biotechnology,
telecommunications, technology information, and related sectors.”[2]
The
Plan’s lack of emphasis on leisure and entertainment is suboptimal and must be
changed.
The preferential pursuit of high-tech and manufacturing
jobs is demonstrably speculative, environmentally risky, and neglects
·
A year-round
temperate climate. (Try sitting poolside
or playing golf in
·
Real tropical
scenery and beaches. (Try finding these
in the same L&E megasites)
·
An artistically
and athletically talented populace that competes and excels internationally in the
performing arts and sports with little or no government support.
·
Political stability
as part of the
·
Proximity to the stressed-out
highly paid workers on the U.S. East Coast seeking reprieve and reward for the
efforts of their labor.
At the end of the day, when all is said and done,
leisure and entertainment are what everybody wants and will pay up for. And there is no other place within the safety
and convenience of the
While
If Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate weren’t enough to
stop chasing an orgiastic future in manufacturing, consider what has happened
on the
Does it make sense then for
Noting the negative impact of the repeal of Section
936 of the Internal Revenue Code on Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical industry, an
article published in March 2008 by the Federal Reserve Bank of
A nearby chart shows
the relentless 4% yearly decline (from 137,000 to 107,000) in Puerto Rican
manufacturing jobs from 2001 to 2007.
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Contrast these figures with leisure and hospitality
jobs that have grown at an average rate of 1.45% from 66,000 in 2001 to 74,000
in 2007.[7]
_files/image004.gif)
Total revenue from tourism from 1997 to 2006 grew at a
compound rate of 5.11% from $2 billion to $3.4 billion. The latter number represents a return of 28
times the Puerto Rico Tourism Company’s $121.9 million budget for the 2007
fiscal year.[8] In
early December 2007, Terestella Gonzalez Denton, executive director, announced
$2.5 billion in future tourism projects and the construction of 3,000 hotel
rooms.[9] As a percentage of visitor spending, expected
tourism investment is just 71% of the prior year’s visitor spending.
_files/image006.gif)
As illustrated in these simple graphs and figures, Puerto
Rico’s manufacturing jobs continue to disappear, while
It is helpful to compare these figures with
If the L&E powers-that-be see this type of future
in leisure and entertainment, why doesn’t
Private investment must be allowed and encouraged on the
scale of
Rosy can have that and more. The entire site can and should be
developed into an L&E city on the order of
Rosy’s physical perimeter should be maintained and it
should be operated as a semi-autonomous district with its own flexible and
efficient regulations and laws, cooperatively financed security, computerized real
property and commercial registries, and a specialized business court with
proceedings conducted in English.
Visitor regulation should be light and friendly.
European sunbathing already happens on the beaches of
Rosy is a place where sovereign wealth funds can do an
enormous amount of good. They can
finance the expertise and capacity to build out the site with careful respect
for the ecosystem and the natural habitat. At least 10 to 15 major parcels of no less
than 30 to 100 acres each should be created for mega hotel resorts designed
along a pedestrian-friendly strip lined by trees, benches, amphitheaters, and water
sculptures that are no less impressive than the perennial Bellagio fountain. It is essential that multiple resort
properties compete with one another based on service, entertainment, and
employee compensation. The captive
resort-bound visitor who feels ripped off by stratospheric pricing can no
longer be part of the equation.
Thus, Rosy cannot be dominated by a one-resort
community. This will defeat the purpose
of having a diversified and dynamic entertainment district that must continuously
re-invent itself as market conditions change.
Existing island resorts and hotels should not feel threatened as Rosy
will attract more visitors than it can handle by itself. It will also serve as a catalyst for
exponentially greater tourism and visitor spending throughout the island.
I offer more specific proposals. Two anchor resorts could be called “The Bacardi
® Palace” and “The Serrallés Don Q® Castle,” showcasing two world famous Puerto
Rican rum brands. These resorts, which
should be no smaller than Caesar’s Palace and The Venetian, will continue a
tradition of promoting awareness of
Rosy’s mega-resorts should include arenas and theaters
large enough for marquee shows, concerts, and sporting events, such as world
championship boxing. One of Rosy’s
centerpieces can be an entertainment museum honoring past and present superstar
entertainers and athletes the world over.
With the ability to fly directly to Rosy’s airport,
visitors will practically be able to walk to their hotels with no need to rent
a car or waste time getting to their destination. High rollers with private jets can land at
the Fajardo municipal airport, which can extend its runway to welcome the
increased, high-margin traffic.
Privately
funded cooperative advertising must be relentless in educating, especially the
American public, that travel to
Consistent with the Reuse Plan, the ecologically
sensitive areas should continue to be preserved in the interest of conservation
and as an additional eco-touristic attraction.
Apart from the futility of trying to compete for manufacturing jobs, the
disastrous environmental effects of chemical and heavy-equipment based
industries in
With powerful offshore breezes and
Rosy should contain a state-of-the art hospital and
emergency treatment facilities with medical staff fluent in major languages. Retail stores should offer upscale, duty-free
shopping available to travelers showing proof of unexpired return air
transportation tickets. The Reuse Plan
correctly proposes a building out of the harbor and marina facilities for
yachts and small cruise ships. This will
ignite aquatic sports and boat travel to Vieques, Culebra and the
The transfer of Ramey Air Force Base on the west coast
of the island in the early 1970’s is a blue print of what not to do. Like the other former military installations,
the grounds of Ramey were once immaculate and in apple pie order. With the transfer, the base perimeter was removed
and disorder trellised its way onto the site. Military housing was practically gifted to the
local residents. While a noble ideal, a
regional campus of the
The same fate should not await Rosy.
The site should continue to be enclosed; access opened
to all, but regulated. Rosy’s airport
must be polished into a gem. The former
military housing should be torn down.
The grounds should be sold or leased to major resort operators. The areas set aside for educational use should
be eliminated. More educational spending
will not cause world-class scholars and researchers to forgo MIT and
Stanford. It is much more likely,
however, that the wealthy owners of their groundbreaking technologies will come
to Rosy to spend their millions and billions to enjoy themselves in safest and
most exciting L&E city in the world.
Over the next 30 to 40 years, Rosy can be the new
cornerstone of the island’s economy and provide free-market wealth and
abundance to the People of Puerto Rico.
All the government has to do is allow it to occur. Let’s cancel any plans to ask Congress for handouts. This is our chance.