Banyan Cay: Buyer plans to finish resort by December in bid to "elevate" West Palm complex

Banyan Cay Resort & Golf — the long-delayed West Palm Beach development — could open as soon as Dec. 1 under a plan to finish construction and "elevate" the hotel and its jewel, the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, according to the proposed buyer of the unfinished hotel complex.

Otis Moore, a principal with Denver-based Westside Investment Partners, said work already is underway to inspect the hotel furniture that is stored in warehouses but not yet placed in the 150-room hotel.

Some resort elements, such as the conference rooms are completed, Moore said. But other finishes, such as the pool deck, are not.

In addition, minor improvements to the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course are on the drawing board, too. This includes upgrading golf club cleaning facilities and improving landscaping at key berms, such as the one facing the clubhouse, Moore said.

"This will be an elevated product than what it was originally imagined as," Moore said. Plans are to spend about $5 million to finish the resort by year-end.

More: Banyan Cay: $102 million sale of long-delayed hotel complex could take place this summer

Bidder for West Palm's Banyan Cay said demand for upscale resorts also boomed in pandemic

Since the Banyan Cay resort hotel and club first was announced in 2017, the demand for upscale hotels has dramatically increased, especially with the wealth migration to Palm Beach County during the coronavirus pandemic, Moore said.

That, in turn, creates an opportunity to transform Banyan Cay into an "oasis" that will be different from other newer luxury hotels, such as The Ben, a Marriott Autograph Hotel in downtown West Palm Beach, he added.

Westside recently won approval from a federal bankruptcy judge with its $102.1 million bid to buy the long-delayed hotel complex. The sale is expected to close on July 31.

Morse was vague about whether the property will remain a Hyatt property, saying only that other posh national hotel brands are being weighed, too.

But regardless of the hotel flag, Westside plans to position the resort as both a luxury enclave and a rare private golf club in the heart of a city bursting with new investment, companies and residents.

Demand for private golf club membership soared during the pandemic, and private clubs have long wait lists.

Moore said Westside wants to grow the Banyan Cay club in a way that respects members but also provides golf amenities for guests staying at the resort. A golf course consultant will be evaluating the property, he said.

More: Why is Banyan Cay Resort & Club still unfinished? What to know

Next stage in Banyan Cay Chapter 11 filing

Banyan Cay filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in April, marking the latest twist for the still unfinished hotel, which has been under construction, on and off, for years.

The complex is just east of Interstate 95, off Congress Avenue and north of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, near the Palm Beach Outlets shopping mall.

The 250-acre Banyan Cay property used to be the site of the President Country Club, which fell into financial trouble and was sold to an investor group for $11 million in 2011. That investor group then flipped the property to Banyan Cay Dev LLC, led by Domenic Gatto Jr., for $26 million in 2015.

The 18-hole, 130-acre Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course was completed in 2017 and is a popular destination for events, including charity tournaments and qualifiers for major PGA-sanctioned tournaments.

But the project's centerpiece, the resort hotel, remains only partly built, even though by now it was supposed to be a lushly landscaped enclave featuring a fitness center, pool, cabanas, tennis center, tiki hut and spa, plus meeting space.

Construction starts and stops delayed the hotel's completion, but the project still was set to open in the fall of 2022 as a Destination by Hyatt property, the first Florida location of this boutique, upscale Hyatt brand.

Then the company's main lender filed a foreclosure action in mid-2022 and by February, had won a judgment. Banyan Cay's lawyer then filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to halt the foreclosure and continue efforts to sell the resort.

Westside was the only entity to submit a bid in the Chapter 11 filing.

Alexandra Clough is a business writer and columnist at the Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. Twitter: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Banyan Cay buyer seeks to finish resort, polish Jack Nicklaus course