$200 Million Rosewood Exuma Project in the Bahamas Faces Supreme Court Challenge Over Environmental Approvals

A Supreme Court challenge to environmental approvals for the planned $200 million Rosewood Exuma resort is underway in The Bahamas, adding legal uncertainty to a luxury development scheduled to open in 2028.

Miami-based Yntegra Group is developing the project on East Sampson Cay in the Exumas, and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is expected to operate it. Rosewood announced the Exuma project with Yntegra in 2024.

The development is planned for a 124-acre private island and is expected to include 33 suites, six food and beverage outlets, a 20,000-square-foot wellness facility, a beach club and two marinas.

The judicial review was brought by neighboring Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club and concerns environmental clearances issued for different elements of the development.

During hearings this week, attorneys for Turtlegrass argued that the development had been divided into separate components during the environmental approval process, preventing regulators and the public from considering its cumulative impact as a single project. The challengers characterized the practice in court as “salami slicing.”

Yntegra disputes that characterization and has argued that the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection considered the applications as components of the overall development. Its attorneys have also argued that earlier environmental clearances covered geotechnical and preparatory activities rather than an artificial division of the resort project intended to avoid environmental scrutiny.

Court Previously Restricted Work in North Bay

The current hearing follows an April 2026 Supreme Court decision that imposed a limited injunction on parts of the development while allowing other preparatory activities to continue.

Justice Leif Farquharson prohibited dredging and certain works in North Bay pending the outcome of the judicial review. However, the court declined to stop the entire Rosewood Exuma development.

In granting the limited injunction, the judge found that the challengers had raised a serious issue requiring the court’s consideration but indicated at that stage that their case was not particularly strong. Turtlegrass was required to provide $3 million in financial security in connection with the injunction.

The distinction is significant because the litigation has not resulted in a general construction ban on the Rosewood project. Yntegra has maintained that permitted preparatory and geotechnical work can continue while the environmental dispute proceeds.

Environmental Approval Process Under Scrutiny

At the center of the judicial review are Certificates of Environmental Clearance issued by the Bahamas Department of Environmental Planning and Protection.

Turtlegrass argues that earlier approvals allowed physical work to begin before the environmental impact of the broader development was fully considered. Its attorneys have also raised questions about the adequacy of environmental studies, disclosure of project documents and the public consultation process.

These remain allegations under consideration as part of the judicial review, rather than findings that environmental laws were violated.

The dispute also encompasses the potential environmental effects of development around Sampson Cay. Environmental concerns raised by opponents include impacts on seagrass, coral and marine habitat in waters surrounding the island.

Solar Farm Becomes Part of Dispute

A separate issue has emerged around a proposed 22-acre solar farm.

Yntegra principal Felipe MacLean said in a September court filing that an earlier concept involving solar panels installed on resort buildings had evolved into plans for a standalone solar facility on another portion of Sampson Cay.

Turtlegrass contends that the solar facility illustrates its broader argument that interconnected parts of the development are being considered separately.

Yntegra rejects that argument, noting that the solar farm proposal was developed after the environmental approvals currently under judicial review and that its separate environmental clearance application has not yet been decided.

The solar farm dispute has therefore become part of the wider disagreement over how to evaluate the environmental effects of the overall development.

Rosewood Plans 2028 Opening

Rosewood continues to list the Exuma resort for a 2028 opening.

The hotel company has said only about 25 percent of the 124-acre island is intended to be developed, and that the project will incorporate solar energy and other measures to reduce its environmental impact.

The development represents part of Rosewood’s continued expansion in the Caribbean and combines a relatively small accommodation count with extensive resort infrastructure, including a beach club, wellness facilities, restaurants and marina facilities capable of accommodating yachts.

The legal challenge does not determine whether the project can ultimately proceed. The Supreme Court is considering whether the environmental approval process complied with Bahamian law and whether the challenged clearances should stand.

The substantive judicial review hearing began this week and is continuing.