A new condo-hotel project has opened in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The ESJ Azul has debuted after a $12 million transformation project of the former ESJ Tower in Isla Verde.

The project now has 450 rooms, aimed at both vacation ownership and hotel stays.

“The opening of ESJ Azul, along with new tourism projects to be developed in this area, is definitely good news,” said Ingrid Rivera Rocafort, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. “It represents an awakening of this area that is so fundamental for the strengthening of the tourism industry in Puerto Rico.”

The project is the brainchild of investor Keith St Clair, who moved to Puerto Rico under the territory’s Law 22, which provides significant tax incentives for moving to the island.

“I am convinced that tourism is one of the keys to economic recovery and growth [in Puerto Rico],” St Clair said.

St Clair is leading a wider project aimed at revivifying the Isla Verde area.