$130M resort on Tinian OK’d

A planned multimillion-dollar attraction on Tinian could put the Commonwealth on the world map as the first to build a Titanic-themed hotel and resort.
The Commonwealth Ports Authority approved on Friday the proposed new facility that will be built on a 40,000-square-meter CPA property on the Tinian harbor. The hotel and resort will have 300 rooms and state-of-the-art amenities including a museum, restaurants, a spa and fitness center, shopping arcades, and a wedding chapel.

According to Phillip Mendiola-Long, executive director of Bridge Investment Group LLC, the Tinian Ocean View Resort will be Asia’s first Titanic-themed hotel and resort. Actual construction is eyed in December this year.

He said the Tinian Ocean View Resort will be built on land but would look like it is sitting in water. The proposed 300 hotel rooms will include a presidential suite, 15 suites, and 58 executive suites. The facility will also include a casino and banquet room, among other amenities.

The CPA board finally approved the company’s conditional lease after months of negotiations. As part of the conditional agreement, Bridge Investment Group agreed to build for CPA two to three new buildings to replace ones that will be affected by the hotel project and will need to be relocated outside the leased property.

Why Titanic?

Mendiola-Long, who appeared in Friday’s meeting, said that based on their research, there is much that fascinates people about Titanic. He said that of over $2.2 billion in global revenue the Titanic movie earned, majority or 70 percent came from outside the U.S.

In China, that movie is the No. 1 top grossing film. In the 2012 re-release of the Titanic movie in 3D, it earned $70 million in its opening weekend in China, the highest ever for any film. BIG’s research also show that an estimated 70 percent of the East Coast of China has viewed the film while the film soundtrack, My Heart Will Go On, is the No. 1 English song sang in karaoke bars.

It was also bared that a survey among 20-45 year olds in China showed that the Titanic is one of the top 3 favorite films.

“The history of Titanic in China has no relation to the real life 1912 disaster. The Titanic story has morphed into a Chinese fairytale story similar to Cinderella,” bared the company.

According to Mendiola-Long, BIG aims to bring tourists from Northern China and is currently working with the Federal Aviation Administration for its planned charter flights from the destination.

CPA was informed Friday that BIG has already invested over $6 million in the planning, acquisition, and development of 85,000 square meters of property on Tinian. This includes the complete construction of workforce housing for the estimated 1,000 workers necessary to build the Tinian Ocean View Resort.

BIG is also a conditional gaming license holder with the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission, completing all financial and personal suitability investigations in 2006.

For the Tinian Ocean View Resort project, the company is willing to pay advance base rental fee for a 40-year lease term upon signing of the agreement with CPA. It will also pay for all required studies such as structural, archeological, environmental, underwater survey, and others.