Weller Development Partners Showcases Resort Renderings and Masterplan for Six Senses Grand Bahama

A Sustainable Approach to Design, Community Development and Tourism

 

Bethesda, MD – September 12, 2024 – Weller Development Partners and Pegasus Capital Advisors, developers of Six Senses Grand Bahama, today unveiled the resort renderings and masterplan for the $250M+ development. The 50-acre resort community with 70 resort villas and 28 branded residences will focus on sustainability, resilience, and wellness and will immediately establish a vibrant community and hospitality offering that will redefine luxury living and tourism in The Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Six Senses Grand Bahama: Aerial View of Resort + Residences

Designed by award-winning architecture firm Gensler, the resort features an array of amenities, including a signature Six Senses Spa, multiple restaurants, event spaces, beach club, destination dining, and a panoramic oceanfront pool. The resort has been designed to blend with the lush, native landscape and flora and to take full advantage of uninterrupted ocean and canal views, waterfront access, pristine sandy white beaches, and turquoise seas. The seamless pairing of raised structures within the natural environment will create an unparalleled experience for residents and resort guests.

Six Senses Grand Bahama: Six Senses Spa

“We are excited to reveal the Six Senses Grand Bahama resort designs and masterplan,” commented Marc Weller, Founding Partner and President of Weller Development Partners. “We have assembled a world-class design team, with Olson Kundig working on the residences and Gensler on the resort. The architectural design and the overall masterplan reflect the core values of our partnership with Six Senses and shared focus on wellness, sustainable design and a connection with nature and the community. We believe Six Senses Grand Bahama has the potential to set a new benchmark for sustainable living and ecotourism models in The Bahamas and the Caribbean, not only through its design, but also through its operations and programming.”

Neil Jacobs, Six Senses CEO, said: “The Six Senses Grand Bahama masterplan demonstrates our commitment to creating a vibrant, year-round community, with the canals and waterway providing a unique version of the front porch. Integrating intentionally designed and efficiently built structures within the majestic natural landscape establishes a framework for guests to connect or disconnect, explore or escape, allow a sun-soaked lunch to tumble into dinner, and access a whole range of crafted experiences and wellness programming. Sustainability and resiliency measures reinforce the plan, ensuring its viability for years to come.”

With careful reverence for the natural landscape, the resort masterplan honors the Grand Bahamian culture, carefully marrying the island’s Lucayan heritage and embracing the local community’s approach to living lightly on the land.

Six Senses Grand Bahama: Signature Dining & Beach Club

“The Six Senses Grand Bahama resort achieves a complex balance of many critical elements,” stated David Darlington, Principal, Regional Hospitality Leader at Gensler. “Weaving sustainable, performance-driven, efficient architecture together with the natural environment allows us to deliver a new standard of luxury, one that both heightens the experience for the guest, while minimizing the lasting impact on the environment.”

Sustainability and resiliency measures include targeting LEED Silver certification by using locally sourced construction materials where possible, replacing invasive species with native flora, and installing energy conservation efforts such as passive shading, high-efficiency MEP systems, and renewable energy use. Resiliency efforts include significant beach restoration and replenishment, a reinforced dune system along the property’s sea-side coastline, filling upland areas to increase site elevation, and building foundations that raise the Finished Floor Elevation (FFE) substantially above finished grade.

These measures to minimize environmental impact will set the bar for future sustainable tourism models on Grand Bahama and across the Caribbean. The development will also create hundreds of employment opportunities for the local community, contributing to the region’s long-term economic growth trajectory.

Six Senses Grand Bahama: Resort Village

Construction is slated to begin at the end of 2024, with an anticipated opening in 2026.

For more information on Six Senses Residences Grand Bahama visit: grandbahamaresidences.com

 

About Weller Development Partners:

Weller Development Partners is a dynamic and innovative full-service development firm focused on luxury hospitality, residential, experiential placemaking, and large-scale mixed-use projects. Led by Founding Partner and President Marc Weller, our leadership team offers a wide range of expertise and experience to tackle the most complex real estate developments. At the heart of the company ethos is a triple-bottom-line approach to development, designing strategies that are financially viable and provide returns to investors while also providing benefits to the surrounding communities and the environment.  With an extensive portfolio of luxury hospitality properties, distinctive mixed-use development projects, and a proven track record of successful and celebrated ventures, Weller Development Partners delivers value and results, no matter the complexity or odds. For more information visit: WellerDevelopment.com.

 

About Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P.:

Pegasus Capital Advisors is a leading global private markets impact investment manager. As the first U.S. private equity fund manager accredited by the Green Climate Fund, the company is dedicated to fostering sustainable and inclusive growth while providing attractive returns for its investors. Founded in 1996 by Craig Cogut, Pegasus has invested over $2 billion across five private equity funds.

 

About Gensler:

At Gensler, the value of our work stems from its positive impact on the human experience. We are a dynamic and collaborative design firm uniting creativity, research, and innovation to solve complex problems for our clients. Our work challenges conventional ideas about architecture and the built environment. We aren’t just designing buildings — we are reimagining cities and places that make a difference in people’s lives. Founded in 1965, Gensler has built a team of 6,000 professionals who partner with clients in over 100 countries each year. Everything we do is guided by our mission: to create a better world through the power of design. More information at gensler.com.

 

About Six Senses & IHG:

Six Senses, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ luxury and lifestyle portfolio, operates 27 hotels and resorts and has signed a further 40 properties into the development pipeline. Six Senses serves as a changemaker and maintains a leadership commitment to community, sustainability, emotional hospitality, wellness, and crafted experiences, infused with a touch of quirkiness. Whether an exquisite island resort, mountain retreat, or urban hotel, the vision remains the same: to reawaken people’s senses so they feel the purpose behind their travels and ultimately reconnect with themselves, others, and the world around them. Six Senses Residences offers all the unique amenities of a resort life community while retaining the privacy and personal touches of a beautifully appointed private villa or apartment. Six Senses Spas guide guests on their personal path to well-being in all resorts as well as a handful of standalone spas. The high-tech and high-touch approach goes beyond ordinary beauty treatments to offer holistic wellness, integrative medicine, and longevity.

IHG Hotels & Resorts is a global hospitality company with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good.  With a family of 19 hotel brands and IHG One Rewards, one of the world’s largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,400 open hotels in more than 100 countries, and a development pipeline of over 2,200 properties.  InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 375,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices globally.  Figures as of 30 June 2024