Above: West Caicos

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Apex Development has named a new chief executive officer for the resort hotel development on West Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Apex, which is the development manager of the project, said Christensen would have “full responsibility for all aspects of the development including design, construction, marketing and operations.”

Christensen most recently served as the CEO of Ritz-Carlton Reserve Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico.

“I am thrilled to be leading this exceptional project,” he said in a statement. “The Turks and Caicos Islands are already well-established as a luxury resort destination. On West Caicos, we have the opportunity to take over a development and turn it into something exciting and special.”

The project on West Caicos had originally launched development in 2001, but it stalled during the financial downturn. It had been slated to become a Ritz-Carlton Reserve project called Molasses Reef.

It will include 115 hotel rooms, condominiums, a $12 million spa, a beach club and a watersports centre, according to Apex.

TCI Premier Dr Rufus Ewing said he recently met with Christensen and was “pleased” to see the project moving forward.

“The government is fully supportive of this project and all the economic benefits it will bring to the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Ewing said.