This place is ours. Let's talk about its future.
On August 13, Jacobs Entertainment presented the largest development ever proposed for central Eleuthera, including a marina, a casino, residential lots and a public-private partnership using crown land. After nearly two hours of questions from the floor Jacobs withdrew the crown land proposal in the room.
Who We Are
A community that has called this island home for generations.
Our Governor’s Harbour is a community-led effort by residents, longtime homeowners, and friends of Eleuthera. We support responsible growth, not a project that remakes Governor’s Harbour beyond recognition.
Governor's Harbour is one of the oldest settlements in The Bahamas. Founded in the 1600s, it has been continuously inhabited for over 350 years. This is a living, breathing community with deep generational roots, a rich Bahamian heritage, and a unique character that has drawn visitors and families for decades.
We are not anti-development. We are for development that fits the scale, values, and infrastructure realities of a Family Island, and respects the historic town of Governor’s Harbour.
What’s Being Proposed
The largest development ever proposed for Central Eleuthera.
US-based developer Jacobs Entertainment has proposed a sea-to-sea development across Governor's Harbour: a resort, mega-yacht marina, private home lots along our Atlantic beaches, casino gaming, new roads through our communities, and, until August 13, a public-private partnership built on roughly 100 acres of public land at Navy Base Beach (referred to by the developer as “Navy Beach”).
At the developer's own public meeting on August 13, after two hours of plain questions from a full room, that Crown land proposal was withdrawn. Mr. Jacobs told the meeting: “Okay, so it's off the table. We're not going to propose the government a public-private partnership.” He agreed to put the withdrawal in writing, and stated: “I have no intention to apply for Crown land. I never did.”
What was withdrawn was one component. The scale of the development, the casino, and the question of real economic benefit to this community all remain exactly where they stood before the meeting. Asked directly whether he would remove the casino, Mr. Jacobs told the room: “The casino funds my activities here. If there is no casino, there's no Jeff.”
Our Position
We believe in the right kind of development for our island.
Eleuthera’s appeal - its pristine beaches, clear water, authentic Bahamian culture, natural beauty, and a genuine sense of community is the foundation of what makes this place worth calling home and worth visiting.
We’re asking for answers before any approvals are even considered - before plans are filed, and before Governor’s Harbour is changed in ways that can’t be undone.
Our Questions and Concerns
Governor's Harbour is a small, close-knit settlement built on limited infrastructure and a fragile natural ecosystem. As described publicly, the project proposal includes a casino and marina, and a sea-to-sea footprint that would reshape land use in and around Governor’s Harbour. At his August 13 meeting, the developer described cutting down hillsides and using the fill so that “everybody that buys a house or villa is looking at the water,” a marina so “the big boats to go to Nassau can now come here,” and a restaurant built on fill at the north end of French Leave Beach. These are his words, on his own livestream.
A project of this scale raises immediate, practical questions about water and power capacity, waste and sewage, traffic and road changes, dredging and marine impacts, and where a large construction workforce would live in a community where housing is already tight.
A casino also brings predictable social impacts such as increased risk of gambling harm, enforcement and safety pressures, and a shift in the kind of destination Eleuthera becomes.
Another major concern is the lack of transparency. The fact that residents can’t review publicly available plans for something this large is unacceptable. We should not have to guess what is being built in our own community. Any development plans should be transparent, sustainable, and proportionate to the scale and soul of a Family Island, especially the historic town of Governor’s Harbour.
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Governor's Harbour has been a living community for over 350 years. Development at this scale would fundamentally alter what it means to live here. Our settlement is not a backdrop for a resort.
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A casino changes what Eleuthera is. It draws a different market, brings different social pressures, and signals a permanent shift in identity, from Family Island to gaming destination.
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A sea-to-sea development with hundreds of residences, major tourism infrastructure, and a casino would require a large imported workforce, add pressure to housing, and strain already limited utilities.
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A multi-hundred-acre, sea-to-sea footprint and reported golf course would put coastal and marine ecosystems at risk. The environment is not a backdrop on Eleuthera; it is the economy.
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Public access must stay public. Beaches, customary paths, and areas of public land. If any public access is ‘re-configured,’ residents deserve to see the details in writing, up front.
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Jobs matter, but so do the terms: how many jobs, for how long, at what wages, and how many go to Eleutherans versus imported labor. We want facts, not slogans.
Community Research
What does our community actually think?
We believe decisions of this magnitude should be grounded in real community sentiment. We engaged the Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG) to conduct independent surveys and focus groups so community views are documented clearly and credibly. The goal is to gather credible, unbiased data on what people value, what concerns them, and what kind of future they want for our island.
See the results of the survey and focus groups below:
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