$351 million project for Jekyll is unveiled

September 26, 2007
By CAROLE HAWKINS | The Florida Times-Union

JEKYLL ISLAND - Jekyll residents want to see the barrier island make money again.

But a day after the Jekyll Island Authority selected Linger Longer Communities as its redevelopment partner, many wondered if it really will take a whole village to make Jekyll Island self-sustaining. Residents greeted Linger Longer executives with questions and conflicted feelings Tuesday at a presentation of a new town square center design. The $351.5 million center is intended to create enough amenities in one area to recast Jekyll as a destination getaway and generate enough revenue for the island to pay for its own operations.

But even new tree-lined roads winding past newly created wetlands, a marsh park, nature museums, shops and hidden parking lots could not allay a sense of sadness many felt. With 725 hotel rooms and 382 rental and time-share condominiums, the plan left no doubt that Jekyll Island's character would change for good. Jean Poleszak, a 25-year Jekyll Island resident, called Linger Longer's design "gorgeous" but said it is just too big.

"It's the best I've seen in a coastal development, but it doesn't belong here," she said. "This really is a state park. Everybody has seen beach communities. They come to Jekyll to see what a barrier island looks like." "It's hard to see it now," she said of the design that would stretch buildings across 63 acres of beachfront along the island's center.

Looking at a model of the project, University of Georgia employee Dawn Zenkert wanted to know if there was a way to accomplish the same goal without so many new accommodations. "I understand you have to strike a balance between revitalization and still enjoying Jekyll Island as it is," she said, "but can you just not have such a large scale?" The Linger Longer project, along with other new hotel construction, will double the 1,500 accommodations on Jekyll Island that had existed during its peak years. Project executive Jim Langford reassured the 75 people in attendance that plans were "not locked in stone" and the Linger Longer team wanted public input at this and future meetings.

"We're eager to start the public process," he said. "We're proud of some of the ideas we've come up with." Linger Longer's proposal uses design features friendly to the environment, including permeable surfaces, turtle-friendly lighting and two parks atop flat-roofed buildings. A web of new bicycle trails, walkways and a beach promenade would connect visitors with the surrounding environment. The Linger Longer proposal was rated the best of three competitors for accommodations affordable to average Georgians. Even so, most of the project's hotel rooms and vacation rentals will be outside the price range of middle-class Georgians.

David Egan of the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island reminded Langford a survey of more than 6,000 visitors showed that 82 percent would not be able to stay on Jekyll for more than $150 per night. The convention center hotels, which account for 55 percent of the new rooms in the plan, would rent for an average daily rate of $185. And Linger Longer's condominiums - selling for $400,000 at the low end - are unlikely to produce affordable rentals, Egan said. "This is not what Jekyll Island is all about," Egan said.

Paul van Leeuwen, contract negotiator for Linger Longer, said convention center plans were designed not to make Jekyll pricey, but to create amenities that would draw meetings back to the island. Even so, there's no reason to believe affordable accommodations won't make money on Jekyll as well. "The economics work for our $105 and $138 per night hotels as well as the [$185] per night convention center hotel," he said. "The economics for all three are supportable." The idea is not to create the most expensive Jekyll Island, but one that will create enough excitement to tempt people to rediscover it, he said.

"You hear people say they came to Jekyll Island as a kid but never came back," he said. "We want to give people a reason to come back." Want to comment? To see Linger Longer's town square center and to comment on it, visit the Web site at www.rediscoverjekyll.com