Park Service Issues RFQ for Caneel Bay With Focus on Eco-Tourism

The National Park Service has issued a Request for Qualifications as the first step in the redevelopment of the Caneel Bay resort on St. John as a “premier eco-destination” since it was destroyed in the twin Category 5 hurricanes of 2017.

The property had been mired in a legal dispute since 2022 when the previous leaseholder, EHI Acquisitions, sued the government over ownership of the land and its improvements. However, the V.I. District Court ruled in April that the resort and the 150 acres of prime beachfront land it sits on belong to the U.S. government and while EHI has appealed that decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a case that remains ongoing, the NPS is moving ahead with the redevelopment.

“Caneel Bay overnight accommodations provide a unique publicly offered lease opportunity with stunning ocean views along the north shore coastal landscape,” Superintendent Penelope Del Bene said in a press release announcing the RFQ. “The cultural and natural resources of the area are significantly important to the local communities.”

Indeed, the storied resort — originally established by Laurance Rockefeller and Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. as one of its “Rockresort” locations in the mid-1950s — has historically represented an early model of eco-tourist luxury accommodations, Del Bene noted. However, it has been largely shuttered since hurricanes Irma and Maria severely damaged the guest rooms and other support structures in September 2017.