Local developers to build green resort on deserted island

Cabbage Cay is a deserted 35-acre island in the Bahamas, once thought impossible to develop.

But two Hilton Head Island businessmen took that as a challenge to create a self-sustaining "green" island that they plan to start building on this spring.

STAR Island, the name of the development, stands for Sustainable Terrain and Resources. It will incorporate everything from environmentally friendly features to organic coffee served at local restaurants. Energy will be generated by solar, wind and hydropower.

Its creators are marketing the resort to eco-conscious consumers willing to spend between $600 and $1,500 a night for lodging.

In 2007, Hilton Head residents Tom Jacoby and David Sklar acquired the property in north Eleuthera in the Bahamas.

Jacoby is a local developer who is managing construction on the island. Sklar owns the Dalu Design architectural firm in Savannah and is the lead architect on the project.

Jacoby said the project has been self-financed so far, with the two principals putting up about $10 million. The project is expected to cost $25 million.

They are shooting for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. Developed by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED rating system is one of the leading national benchmarks for green buildings.

STAR Island will be eligible for the designation upon completion, expected in late 2009.

While Sklar has designed green projects before, STAR Island was the first time he was given a blank canvas -- an opportunity to build a community from the ground up without any existing services, structures or residents.

"It's probably what every architecture student dreams of," Sklar said. "They want a place they can have total control over and create their ideal environment."

Jacoby said the project is his first venture at going green and the biggest challenge he's ever faced. He likens it to building a Daufuskie Island, but with triple the work because water, power and workers must be brought to the island every day during construction.

"Developing on Hilton Head is pretty easy -- water and sewer is there, you get a building permit and build it," Jacoby said. "Developing a piece of property in the middle of the Caribbean Sea is pretty exciting stuff. There is no way to get water or power. We are creating systems that solve all those problems."

Solar energy will power the island's water treatment facility, which processes ocean water into drinking water. To avoid wastefulness, all rainwater will be collected in cisterns and reused. All trash will be recycled and converted into power.

As a designer, Sklar considers the solar roofs integrated into homes and condos his favorite green feature because they're not seen as ugly appendages. All golf carts will be solar powered, and no cars will be allowed.

STAR Island will contain 46 private residences, a hotel, 20 private bungalows and two condominium buildings with 10 units each. All structures are on waterfront property. Starting at $650,000, half the homes will face swimming beaches and the other half private docks.

The resort will contain a 60-boat slip marina, but fuel cannot be purchased there. It will also include a high-end spa, fitness center, restaurants, clubhouse and gourmet market with full concierge services. Vacationers can e-mail their grocery list and have food delivered to their door.

Sklar said a resort setting, especially an eco-friendly one, "gives people an opportunity to sample a lifestyle, perhaps, of the future within a few days. We have to be able to educate and influence as many people as possible to correct some of the problems we've accrued since the Industrial Revolution."