AFTER A DEVASTATING 2017 HURRICANE SEASON, THE CARIBBEAN IS REBUILDING AND REVITALIZING MULTIPLE PROPERTIES.
Made up of more than 7,000 islands, the beauty and splendor of the unspoiled Caribbean is situated in the crosshairs of extreme weather. Plagued with some of the strongest hurricanes on record, recent storms brought severe wind, rain and coastal surge damage to many islands – collapsing infrastructure, electricity and communications. When hurricanes Irma and Maria swept through the Caribbean, the world watched as these massive storms devastated multiple islands with a combined force that took hundreds of lives. Twelve major islands were affected by the Category 5 hurricanes with Anguilla, Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, and the U.S. Virgin Islands taking the biggest hits. But like the islands themselves, many of the 4.2 million people who live in the Caribbean are resilient. While impacts, much like authentic Caribbean culture and character, vary from one island to another, the tourism-dependent region is rebuilding – and in many cases, stronger than before. “We’re seeing a significant amount of homegrown and foreign investment in the Caribbean and an uptick in development projects that not only encourage tourism, but improve daily life on the islands,” shares EDSA Associate Principal Courtney Moore. “With a resurgence in hotel rehabilitations and new mixed-use residential properties on the rise, our team is concentrating on designing hurricane-resilient projects to withstand severe weather by addressing infrastructure and agriculture, adhering to code regulations, and mitigating the impacts of natural disasters by putting effective storm management practices in place.”
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