November 15, 2002 - Luck seems to be on Curtis Robinson's side these days. His East Granby, Connecticut-based C&R Development Company is getting ready to begin construction on his dream: Seven Hills Beach Resort and Casino in St. Croix, the first African American-owned casino in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The St. Croix senate voted unanimously, approving a re-zoning of St. Croix's Robin Bay area where the $536 million resort and casino will be built. The project will be handled by Robin Bay Associates L.L.C., a division of C&R, which was awarded a casino license in December of 2001.

The Seven Hills Beach Resort and Casino will be a 300-room first-class hotel with 100 beachfront timeshares and residential units, an 18-holf golf course and a 20,000 square-foot casino gaming hall.  Robinson also plans to build a 200-room eco-spa and lodge, an additional 180-room beachfront hotel, and some 700 more residential units. This is all over 615 acres, which include areas known as Estate Mt.  Retreat, Estate Little Profit, Estate Cotton Grove, and Estate Mt. Fancy on the south shore of the island.  Groundbreaking is set for December 2002 and the project is expected to be completed by the second or third quarter of 2005. 

Robinson says he chose St. Croix because it's located in the United States and off the coasts of both Florida and Puerto Rico. "Plus, he adds, "the people of St. Croix reached out to me� and have supported this project 100 percent." Once the project is finished, Robinson will be able to reciprocate the support he received from St. Croix, estimating that "Seven Hills will employ 7,000 people and generate at least $1 million for the local economy."

Another plus in choosing St. Croix, says Robinson, is that Seven Hills comes right on the heels of the island's gaming industry legislation. "They only approved casino gaming in the U.S. Virgin Islands less than three years ago," he notes. "I was fortunate to obtain one of only three licenses that were issued."

Development is nothing new to Robinson, whose 25-year-old C&R Development Company is a certified minority business endorsed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company. Under the C&R Development umbrella are various other companies including: R&H Services L.L.C., a full-service transportation company and the leading provider of transportation services at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut; R&G Parking L.L.C., a parking management division that manages and operates surface parking lots and garages; the Air Exchange Building, a 45,000-square-foot office complex owned by C&R; Curtis D.  Robinson Realty Company; C&R National ATM Company Inc., which sells, processes, and distributes ATM machines, and Robin Bay Associates L.L.C.

Right now Robinson's focus is Seven Hills, and he's betting that it'll not only make history but be a major success.