EDA Board Applauds $35M Havensite Hotel, Set to Open May 2025, as Haven Development Seeks Key Benefits

Members of the Economic Development Authority’s Board of Directors were effusive in their praise for Shaun and Beth Miller, owners of Haven Development, LLC. The company appeared before the EDA's public hearing on Thursday, with an application for benefits under the Hotel Development Act.

The application is for what is described as the “first new hotel project in the U.S. Virgin Islands in over two decades,” according to Erica Kellerhals, who represented the Millers before the EDA. The project, which is being constructed next to the Havensite Mall, is a five-storey, 126-room, “upper mid-scale Hotel,” Ms. Kellerhals said, which is scheduled to open its doors somewhere around mid-2025.

Haven Development, in this application, asked for permission to collect an economic recovery fee of 7.5%, along with the usual dedication of hotel occupancy tax revenues toward the payment of debt obligations.

Ms. Kellerhals noted that throughout construction, the vast majority of the team comprised local companies and vendors. After the hotel is built, at least 21 full-time employees are expected to be hired to staff it, “in addition to having a significant part time labor pool.”