It’s final: Blue Water Homes will not be at Tamat Beach

 Triple J Enterprises founder and Blue Water Homes LLC managing partner Robert “Bob” Jones told Saipan Chamber of Commerce members and guests yesterday that the $30-million Blue Water Homes project will no longer be built at the Tamat Beach area in Chalan Piao because of probate issues.

“That beach will not be used,” Jones told Chamber members and guests at Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio.

He said Blue Water Homes is now looking at three other sites, two of which have issues related to Article 12 of the CNMI Constitution, which restricts landownership to people of Northern Marianas descent.

As of yesterday, Jones said he could not disclose the location of the three properties they are looking at.

Blue Water Homes is the second affordable housing project that applied for and was approved under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

The $30-million project involves the construction of 80 two-, three-, and four-bedroom units in a 98-foot building, originally planned to be built south of Chalan Kanoa Beach Club.

But some 16 landowners and heirs around the project area belonging to the Tamat-Cabrera clan are opposed to the Blue Water Homes, citing the “social consequences” resulting from such kind of massive development. They said they are not anti-development but support controlled development.

Jones, in an interview with reporters, said any time there’s economic development such as construction of affordable homes for 80 families, there may be some people inconvenienced by it.

“But you have to decide whether you want to go on with the development or not. If you do, then you try to inconvenience as few people as you possibly can,” he said.

As it turns out, Blue Water Homes won’t be built at the Tamat Beach area anyway because one of the landowners died and there is an ongoing probate. Jones said it would take months to have this issue addressed, and could hold back the project so they’re looking at three other sites.

Jones, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s 2010 Businessperson of the Year, also spoke about his take on the CNMI’s economic development, including looking for ways to create jobs for people.

Jones was one of two guest speakers at the Chamber’s monthly meeting yesterday at Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio. The other speaker was U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services district director David Gulick.

Only through job creation can the CNMI economy move forward, Jones said.

He said people can always blame somebody for the economy-the federal government, the administration, the Legislature-but that would not accomplish anything.

He encouraged businesses to take the lead in creating jobs, whether for five people or 100 people.

Jones cited Triple J’s decision to buy restaurants, build a supermarket, and build Sandy Beach Homes despite a down economy, to create job opportunities for the CNMI people.

He said as of today, for example, there are some 217 individuals working at their Sandy Beach Homes construction project, and some 25 percent to 30 percent more are employed indirectly because of this project.

In his presentation, Jones talked about the eco-friendly features of Sandy Beach Homes-from Energy Start appliances to solar hot water systems.

Douglas Brennan, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said in his message to members that there is no silver bullet that will magically transform the CNMI economy.

“What is missing on the Saipan economic landscape right now is consistency and a sense of direction. .We live on one of the most amazing places on earth. What are we going to do to maintain the pristine nature of our land, beaches, reefs, and surrounding oceans while building a sustainable economic foundation and maintaining the cultural heritage of the islands?” he asked.

Brennan, general manager of Microl Corp., cited Chena Power owner Bernie Karl, from Alaska, who recently visited Saipan at the invitation of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.

Brennan said Karl keyed in on two major points that hit home. First was the need for the CNMI to be able to feed itself in the event of a global disaster. Second was cost-effective energy. In 2006, Karl installed a geothermal power system at the resort he owns in Alaska and earned additional green credentials.