TORONTO -- Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. said it will invest
approximately $9.5 million for a minority equity interest in the
Fairmont Coco Beach Resort, a new $152 million, 416-room resort on
Puerto Rico's Rio Grande, 25 miles east of San Juan.
As part of the agreement, Fairmont will also manage the resort
and has the option to participate in the development of a vacation
ownership property on a 20-acre parcel of land adjacent to the
resort.
Construction of the resort is scheduled begin this fall, with a
projected opening for late 2005.
The Fairmont Coco Beach Resort will consist of 416 rooms and
villas, 30,000 square feet of meetings space, a 12,000-square-foot
Willow Stream spa and a 6,000-square-foot casino.
The resort's main developer is the Betteroads Asphalt Corp., the
largest asphalt producer and paving company in the Caribbean.
The Hotel Development Corp. and the Tourism Development Fund,
both Puerto Rican government entities, are investment participants
in the project.