A new landmark is rapidly taking shape in the south of the island.

Redevelopment of the Bay Queen site has made a significant addition to the Port St Mary skyline.

The sad remains of the former Bay Queen Hotel were purchased along with the surrounding land for £4m by Hartford Homes in 2007.

Demolition work at the site started in late 2021.

The first phase of the new development will include 23 luxury apartments and two penthouses plus a private club lounge and gym.

The majority of flats and both penthouses have already been sold or reserved leaving only two three-bedroom flats currently still available, with prices ranging from more than £1.2m to £1,339,999.

Hartford secured registered building consent in 2019 for the demolition of the old hotel and construction of two buildings, with initial proposals featuring a total of 45 apartments and a restaurant, including car parking, landscaping and new sub-station.

A number of amendments were subsequently made to the plans, mainly affecting the front section of the building but not its overall design, as part of a new application which was approved in 2021.

These reduced the number of apartments while plans for a stand-alone restaurant were also dropped in favour of a ’flexible’ ground floor space which could be used as a spa/wellness centre alongside an attached cafe.

The redevelopment replicates the majestic twin towers which were a key feature of the old hotel’s Art Deco west wing. These are now taking shape, and have been constructed up to the second floor with a third and upper storey yet to be built.

The old hotel had a fascinating history.

It was run by the Kelly family for more than 50 years from 1914 to 1965 and began as two boarding houses with the gap between them filled in 1926 with a magnificent ballroom and new guestrooms above.

Ten years later the 50-bedroom west wing was added.

Designed by architect Alec Davidson, it featured a new reception hall with terrazzo tiles, a mezzanine floor modelled on the Waldorf Astoria in New York, two lifts and a 400-seat dining room.

The hotel was originally called the Ballaqueeney Hotel, named after the farm owned by the proprietors.

Its name was changed to the Balqueen Hydro following a visit by King George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother at the end of the Second World War.

By the 1950s it had become one the British Isle’s premier resort hotels, and usually full with 300 guests from May 1 to the end of September.

The name changed again to Bay Queen in 1970 but the hotel then went through a period of decline until it finally closed in 1987.