Puerto Rico & USVI Share Blue Economy Goals: Different Islands, Different Approaches
M.A. Dworkin
USVI & PR - Puerto Rico is turning one of its largest former military sites into a test of what coastal redevelopment can look like in the Caribbean. At Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba, old federal facilities are coming down, marina plans are moving forward, and the phrase “Blue Economy” is starting to mean something concrete: jobs, research, boat services, tourism, conservation, and climate-ready coastal infrastructure.
The opportunity is large because the site is large. Roosevelt Roads was once a major U.S. naval station on Puerto Rico’s east coast, near Vieques, Culebra, and some of the most active marine routes in the region. After the base closed, redevelopment moved slowly. Now, the demolition of former U.S. Coast Guard facilities and the creation of a new Marina Business, Research, and Innovation Center point to a more focused plan.
The question is not only whether Puerto Rico can build a successful marina district. It is whether the island can build a marine economy that lasts.
Roosevelt Roads is a strategic place for Puerto Rico’s Blue Economy
The Blue Economy is often described in broad terms, but at Roosevelt Roads it becomes easier to understand. It is the part of the economy tied to the ocean, ports, boats, marine research, coastal protection, seafood, recreation, and clean energy. Done well, it grows income while protecting the water and coastlines that make that growth possible.
For Puerto Rico, this matters for several reasons.
The island sits at a natural crossroads between the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, the U.S. mainland, and Latin America. Its marine assets include beaches, coral reefs, mangroves, fishing grounds, ferry routes, marinas, and deep cultural ties to the sea. Yet many coastal communities also face erosion, storm damage, aging infrastructure, and limited local job options.
Roosevelt Roads offers a rare combination of space, access, and history. The former naval station includes waterfront areas, roads, utilities, airfield assets, and land that can support different uses. That does not make redevelopment easy. Old military sites can bring environmental, legal, and infrastructure challenges. But it does create room for a larger plan than a standalone marina.
A strong Blue Economy strategy at Roosevelt Roads could connect several activities:
Boat repair, maintenance, and storage
Marina slips and visiting yacht services
Marine science and applied research
Workforce training in maritime trades
Eco-tourism linked to nearby islands and protected waters
Coastal resilience projects
Small business support for local operators
Ferry, charter, and excursion activity where appropriate
The key word is connect. A marina by itself can create activity. A marina connected to research, training, local vendors, and conservation can create a wider economic base.
That is why the new center matters.
Demolishing former USCG facilities clears the way for a new waterfront purpose
The demolition of former U.S. Coast Guard facilities at Roosevelt Roads is more than a construction detail. It is a visible sign that the site is moving from its military past toward a different public purpose.
Old federal and military facilities often become obstacles after closure. Buildings can sit vacant for years. Some no longer meet modern codes. Others may need environmental assessment, removal, or careful handling before new construction can move forward. Even when structures have historic or practical value, redevelopment agencies have to decide what should be preserved, what should be reused, and what should come down.
At Roosevelt Roads, demolition can help in several practical ways:
It removes unsafe or obsolete structures.
It opens land for new waterfront uses.
It can reduce long-term maintenance costs.
It allows planners to realign utilities, roads, and access points.
It signals that redevelopment is moving from planning into physical work.
This kind of site preparation is not glamorous, but it is essential. The Blue Economy depends on real assets: docks, workshops, classrooms, labs, haul-out areas, clean water systems, fuel management, stormwater controls, and safe public access. Before those can be built, the land has to be ready.
Demolition also raises questions that Puerto Rico must handle carefully. Coastal redevelopment should not repeat the mistakes of older industrial or military waterfronts. It should include transparent environmental review, dust and runoff controls, safe waste disposal, and planning that keeps public benefit in view.
The goal should be more than making room for private boats. Roosevelt Roads can become a working waterfront where local residents see real gains, not just a polished area that feels separate from nearby communities.
That means planning for access, training, and local business participation from the beginning.
The new Marina Business, Research, and Innovation Center could anchor the plan
The proposed Marina Business, Research, and Innovation Center is the most important piece of the Roosevelt Roads Blue Economy concept because it suggests a mixed-use mission. The name points to three functions: commerce, science, and new marine solutions.
A business center can support the marina economy. That includes companies tied to vessel maintenance, marine electronics, sailing services, provisioning, charters, environmental consulting, dive operations, and coastal construction. Many of these firms are small or medium-sized. They need affordable space, reliable utilities, access to customers, and a pipeline of trained workers.
A research center can support better decisions. Puerto Rico needs applied marine research that helps with reef health, water quality, seagrass protection, coastal erosion, fisheries, sargassum management, and storm resilience. Research becomes more useful when it sits near the water and near the people who work on it every day.
An innovation center, if kept practical, can help test useful tools. These might include low-impact mooring systems, solar-powered marina equipment, water quality sensors, electric vessel charging, reef-safe tourism practices, or better ways to collect and reuse wastewater at coastal sites.
The center could serve several groups at once:
Group | How the center could help |
Local workers | Training in boat repair, marina operations, safety, diving support, and marine technology |
Entrepreneurs | Shared services, technical help, and access to marina customers |
Researchers | Field access, lab space, and partnerships with public agencies |
Students | Hands-on marine science and maritime career pathways |
Visitors | Better services tied to responsible boating and coastal tourism |
Communities | More local jobs and a stronger role in waterfront redevelopment |
This is where Puerto Rico can avoid a common coastal development trap. Many marina projects focus only on slips, restaurants, and real estate. Those can produce revenue, but they do not always build a durable local economy.
A marina center tied to research and training can create more layers of value. A student can move from a classroom to an internship. A mechanic can build a service company. A researcher can test a reef-safe anchoring system. A charter operator can learn better practices for sensitive marine areas. A local food vendor can serve visitors and workers.
The strongest version of the project is not a closed marina district. It is a marine campus with business activity, public value, and environmental responsibility.
This also fits Puerto Rico’s broader needs after years of hurricanes, earthquakes, grid challenges, and fiscal strain. Coastal infrastructure must be able to recover quickly after storms. New buildings should account for flooding, heat, wind, and backup power. Marina systems should reduce pollution risks. Shoreline work should respect mangroves, reefs, and seagrasses, which provide natural storm protection.
If Roosevelt Roads becomes a model for climate-aware coastal redevelopment, it could influence other Puerto Rican ports and waterfronts.
The benefits could reach beyond the marina basin
Economic growth is the headline benefit, but it should not be measured only in visitor spending. A well-built Blue Economy hub can create direct, indirect, and long-term gains.
Direct jobs may come from construction, demolition, marina operations, vessel repair, security, dock work, environmental monitoring, cleaning, retail, excursions, and administration. Some are seasonal or entry-level. Others require technical training and can support careers.
Indirect gains may reach suppliers, transportation providers, restaurants, lodging, fishing communities, tour companies, and educational institutions. A yacht or research vessel that stops for repairs may also buy fuel, food, parts, and local services. A student trained at the center may later work in a port, lab, ferry system, or private marine company.
The long-term gains may be even more important. Puerto Rico could use Roosevelt Roads to build a stronger maritime workforce. That matters because islands depend on marine systems for trade, travel, recreation, emergency response, food, and energy planning.
A serious Blue Economy strategy could help Puerto Rico:
Keep more marine spending on the island
Create skilled trade jobs outside the San Juan metro area
Support Ceiba, Naguabo, Fajardo, Vieques, and Culebra through better east coast activity
Expand marine science opportunities for students
Improve coastal data for public planning
Attract responsible boating and research partnerships
Build stronger links between tourism and conservation
There is also a regional equity question. Roosevelt Roads sits near communities that have lived for decades with the effects of military land use, base closure, and uneven redevelopment. If the new marina hub brings jobs but few local pathways into those jobs, it will fall short. If it includes training, local contracting, and community access, it can become a more balanced project.
The environmental side is just as important. More marine traffic can stress reefs, seagrass beds, and water quality if it is poorly managed. More visitors can strain waste systems and sensitive shorelines. The solution is not to avoid growth. The solution is to set rules and build systems before growth accelerates.
That means pump-out services that work, clear no-anchor zones, reef-safe boating education, stormwater controls, clean maintenance areas, and regular water monitoring. It also means listening to fishers, ferry operators, tour guides, scientists, and coastal residents who know the water.
The U.S. Virgin Islands is moving in a related direction, but not with the same kind of hub
The U.S. Virgin Islands shares many of Puerto Rico’s Blue Economy opportunities. St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John depend on marine tourism, charter boating, ferry routes, cruise activity, fisheries, coral reefs, and coastal ecosystems. The Territory also faces similar risks: hurricanes, coral stress, coastal erosion, limited land, and high infrastructure costs.
So, does the U.S. Virgin Islands have a plan like Roosevelt Roads?
Based on widely available public information, the USVI does not appear to have a single redevelopment project directly comparable to Roosevelt Roads, with a large former military waterfront being remade around a new Marina Business, Research, and Innovation Center. The Roosevelt Roads site is unusual because of its scale, history, and available land.
That said, the USVI does have related pieces of a Blue Economy approach.
The territory has long supported marine tourism, including charter sailing, diving, ferries, and marina services. The University of the Virgin Islands has marine science and environmental research capacity. The Virgin Islands also has coastal zone management programs, coral reef protection work, and disaster recovery planning tied to ports, beaches, and shorelines.
In practice, the USVI approach appears more distributed. Rather than one large hub, activity is spread across islands, agencies, ports, universities, marinas, and conservation programs.
That model has strengths. It can fit the geography of a multi-island territory. It can support local projects without waiting for one major site to carry the whole strategy. It may also allow each island to focus on its own needs. St. Thomas has heavy marine tourism and port activity. St. Croix has different industrial, port, and research possibilities. St. John has strong conservation ties because of the national park presence.
It also has limits. Without a clear flagship hub, it can be harder to connect training, research, business support, and infrastructure in one place. Smaller programs may compete for funding or attention. Businesses may struggle to find a single entry point for support.
This is where Puerto Rico and the USVI could learn from each other.
Regional collaboration could make both strategies stronger
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands share more than water. They share storm tracks, reef systems, maritime labor needs, tourism markets, ferry and cargo connections, and environmental risks. A stronger Blue Economy in one place can support the other, especially if growth is planned across the region rather than in isolation.
Regional collaboration does not need to begin with a large treaty or complex structure. It can start with practical steps.
Puerto Rico and the USVI could work together on:
Shared training standards for marina and vessel service workers
Regional coral and water quality monitoring
Hurricane recovery plans for marinas and ports
Best practices for moorings, anchoring, and pump-out systems
Student exchanges between marine science programs
Joint promotion of responsible boating routes
Small business networks for marine suppliers and repair services
The Caribbean often competes for visitors and investment, but the ocean does not respect political boundaries. A boat repaired in Ceiba may travel to St. Thomas. A coral disease concern near one island can matter to another. A storm can damage ports across the region in the same week. Shared knowledge has real value.
Roosevelt Roads could become Puerto Rico’s east coast platform for that kind of cooperation. The USVI, with its strong marine tourism base and research assets, could be a natural partner. Together, they could help define what sustainable island marine economies look like in U.S. Caribbean waters.
The promise of the Puerto Rico Blue Economy at Roosevelt Roads New Marina Innovation Hub and USVI Plans is not just new construction. It is a chance to turn old waterfront land into a working model for jobs, research, conservation, and regional resilience.
For Roosevelt Roads, the next test is execution. Demolition must lead to clean, safe, useful space. The marina center must serve local workers and businesses, not only visiting vessels. Research must shape daily operations. Environmental safeguards must be built into the project, not added after problems appear.
If Puerto Rico gets that balance right, Roosevelt Roads can become more than a redevelopment story. It can become a Caribbean example of how coastal economies grow best when they protect the waters that sustain them.
