GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios on Sunday said Saipan Portopia Hotel Corp.’s assignment of its Hyatt Regency land lease contract to Coldwell Solar owner David Hood and MB Capital LLC has already been finalized.
Another group of investors is still hoping to acquire the property, but Palacios said the CNMI government is “restricted within the confines of the lease agreement, the regulations and the law.”
“It’s already finalized,” he added. “I wish we can open it up to other investors, but unfortunately, that is not the case.”
He said the lease agreement states that any investor interested in the Hyatt property should acquire it from Saipan Portopia, which is still in possession of the leasehold.
In October 2021, Saipan Portopia signed a 40-year land lease agreement with the CNMI government. The new land lease contract commenced on Jan. 1, 2022. But Hyatt, “citing global shifts and continued challenges impacting Saipan and its tourism sector,” ceased operations on June 30, 2024, with 38 years left in the lease contract.
According to DPL Secretary Teresita Santos, Hood and MB Capital LLC have business experience in the U.S. mainland and Saipan, including 35 years in residential and commercial development projects.
Santos said Hood estimates that his largest company, Coldwell Solar, is valued at over $200 million, and he intends to invest $30 million in the renovation of the hotel.
M&E Enterprises Inc. Saipan, for its part, believes that DPL has the authority to approve or disapprove the transfer of the land lease.
M&E Enterprises is the local representative of a group of investors interested in acquiring the hotel.
In a separate interview, M&E Enterprise owner Yong Chul Jang said they presented their proposal to Saipan Portopia and DPL. Saipan Portopia, he added, told him to wait “until DPL decides” on their request to assign the lease to MB Capital.
Jang said this means DPL can still approve or disapprove Saipan Portopia’s request.
He said his group intends to spend $37 million in renovating the hotel, which will include a state-of-the-art water park that will be constructed by his business partner, Dream Park International.
Jang said their group of investors includes SIP Holdings Co. Ltd, its subsidiary, SIP Saipan Corp., ECO Recycling Co. Ltd. and the U.S.-based AMERIDGE Co. Ltd.
According to SIP Holdings Chief Executive Officer Yun Kyu Park, they will turn the property into a five-star hotel. Their plan also includes airline services. Once they acquire the lease, they will bring in charter flights from Incheon, South Korea. They also plan to provide inter-island air services to Tinian and Rota.
“Our company is seriously considering acquiring the existing Hyatt Hotel on Saipan,” Park said. “We plan to proceed with the acquisition if a compromise and agreement on acquisition … are reached with Saipan Portopia,” he added.
He said they also they plan to operate other businesses related to the tourism industry: aviation, optional tours, shopping, famous franchise restaurants and entertainment bars.
“Considering that the … tourism industry in the CNMI is currently in a significant recession, we aim to gradually expand tourism, starting with the acquisition of this hotel, to help revitalize and rebuild the CNMI tourism industry and economy so that it can take a second leap forward in the future,” Park said.
