No updates yet on Mariana Resort lease, says Pete A

There is no update yet on the lease deal that Mariana Resort and Spa has with the CNMI government, according to Department of Public Lands Secretary Pete A. Tenorio

Mariana Resort’s public land lease expires on April 30, 2018, but it is pursuing a new lease with a commitment of some $30 million in added investment

“No updates yet; they are still studying their options,” Tenorio said. He declined to comment further.

Mariana Resort is one of the earliest investors to set up a hotel in the CNMI. It earlier expressed a desire to continue the 40-year lease it signed with the government, but the government has yet to grant the lease.

Tenorio said he is recommending “alternative” leasing agreements with hotels with expiring public land leases with the government.

Tenorio last month met with officials of the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands to address some of the concerns of hotel investors, particularly on the leasing extensions.

One topic during the discussion, Tenorio said, is to allow the hotels to get an extension on a portion of the public land that they are leasing now. However, this alternative will entail legislative approval.

“We are looking at possibilities and there are no guarantees,” he said.

Another alternative he suggested is where the hotels can terminate their respective leases and apply for another long-term lease.

But again, these alternatives will need the support of the Legislature.

“The onus is not with DPL but with legislators,” Tenorio said, adding that once these hotels are able to draft a lease proposal, DPL and the hotels can then consult with legislators and move from there.

The official was quick to add that these alternative leasing agreements are “exploratory” discussions.

Expiring leases

The leases of Mariana Resort and Spa, Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, and Kanoa Resort are close to expiring, the HANMI earlier said.

HANMI also said some of its members are holding back on making future investments on their hotels if they cannot get any assurances that their land lease agreements will be extended.

Without such an assurance, hotels whose public land leases are close to expiration say the uncertainty is putting a damper on their plans to improve amenities and raise hotel standards.

HANMI president Gloria Cavanagh said that right now there has been very little communication regarding the lease proposal that Mariana Resort and Spa turned in back in August 2014.