At this moment
State of the Union, Anthony Blair, Apr 29, 2026
as of today, here’s where we’re at.
we’re working on a blog with details on the step-by-step plan and budget for this whole project. overall, i believe we’re 4 years into a 7-10 year process. the title has taken 2 years longer than i anticipated, but also, the construction we’ve seen here, so far, is quicker than i’d anticipated.
we received our physical title Tuesday, Mar 30, 2026: 4 years, 1 month, 5 days, and an additional $33K, after submission. ironically, they date the registrar’s approval signature with the same date as when the document was submitted, so that it appears it was approved same day. it’s a bittersweet win, but we’re excited to finally be back in motion.
the official Environmental Impact Assessment approval process has been kicked off. an EIA is required because our island is in a marine reserve, and Belize (rightfully) wants to ensure we do minimal harm, both in the construction phase and in the long run. we applaud this step, and we’ve proposed measures that our consultants disagreed with, because they go well beyond the acceptable.
our consultant, Fabs, had previously prepared the EIA, but the environmental department refused to process without the actual title, because we were caught up in the fraud scheme. the EIA approval process, which includes a public hearing, Fabs believes 4 months is a likely scenario, with 6 months probably the worst.
if the EIA is approved (indications are that this is pretty likely), the next step is permitting, which looks to take 1-3 months (pretty much everyone agrees around 4-8 weeks for this).
so we’ve got 6-9 months before we’re allowed to put shovels in the sand.
in the meantime, we’re renting a place in the jungle, a few miles offshore. we’re absorbing mainland life here, learning the do’s and don’ts, catching up on local tea.
in May, we’ll head back to Detroit for 4-5 months, so we can wrap up a last season for our electric boat cruise business (a job we’ve really loved), coming back to a different rental home here in October. we’ll be driving through Mexico again, this time with a big ol’ boat.
here are the upcoming blogs we’re working on:
the whole Elephant, our 5 year business plan (required for our bank loan), and detailed budget for islandscaping and constructon.
the Blue Bonds, a dive into radically rethinking the future of marine protections
finding the right contractor
thanks to so many of you for the ongoing love & support. our hope is that we have kindred souls out there following because they have similar dreams, and learn something from our mistakes and successes. and whatever you do, for fuck’s sake, outside of the US, hire an independent real estate lawyer to handle your property transaction!
