USVI-On-Line

I am amazed that there is no discussion here about the plans for Coral Bay. If you vacation in Coral Bay because it is funky, country, cheaper, has goats, and donkey, etc, you should be very interested in the proposed marina. The developer's have submitted an application to the Dept of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) for what they call Phase 1 and Phase 2 of their development. This includes a 145 slip marina and various land related developments. You can review the complete application and the review comments submitted by the Coral Bay Community Council on this site:

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=9F78A94D ... ku9HATUihI

To get an idea of what the developer's vision entails for the future, following are some excerpts from a brochure that the developers used in 2012 to solicit funding for their project. Keep in mind that this was a sales pitch to investors. Note that the current permit application only includes Phase I and part of Phase II (no gated community included in the current application. The words in quotes are actual from the document.

PHASE I - "Mega Yacht Marina" "Now the rich and famous can escape the paparazzi" on other islands
PHASE II - "Full Service Marina" AND "Le Petite Maisons" (7.25 acre gated community of Fifteen, $2.4 -$3.2 M Villas)
PHASE III -" Luxe Retail Outlet Stores, 6-8 high end outlet storesat Cocoloba AND "The Boardwalk", " moonlight stroll along a compelling waterfront." AND "Luxury Yacht Charters", starting with three 63' - 92' mega yachts
PHASE VI - "Boutique Resort and Spa"
PHASE V - "The Great House" additional new construction of retail expansion AND, "Exclusive Yacht Club", "home of premier members"
PHASE VI - "Resort based, mixed use development" on 170+ acre parcel, Carolina Valley, " all inclusive resort" "motion picture, music, technology and arts based community."
PHASE VII - 'The Docks at Summer's End & Condominiums', on the 10 acre parcel owned by the Moravian Church, to include 60-80+ slips for yacht charter fleets.

Do you think you would like to vacation in Coral Bay after this development is done? Would you want to stay in a villa located above the construction site during the multi-year constructions?

Those of us that live in and love Coral Bay would like to hear the comments from vacation visitors. If you would like to let the DPNR know what you think pro or con, you can send emails to:

czm@coralbaycommunitycouncil.org
The emails will be printed and presented to DPNR for the official records.

If you prefer to submit written, sealed comments, use the following:

Please address your comments to:
Mr. Jean-Pierre Oriol, Acting Commissioner,
VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources

Re: CZM STJ -3-14L and CZM STJ -4-14W

And mail to:
Department of Planning and Natural Resources
Coastal Zone Management Program
8100 Lindberg Bay, Ste. #61
Cyril E. King Airport Terminal Building 2nd Floor
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802

Although I am all for advocating for the community, this appears to be a lost battle. This issue along with the closing of the Guy Benjamin school, and the development of multidwelling units out on the East End all drew large crowds at the public meetings where representatives from the government heard the public's opinion. Generally large numbers of folks have given a resounding "No!" to these changes. In every single instance the government decided to run contrary to public opinion. GB School, although it performed the best among all VI public schools, has been permanently shuttered; the multidwelling East End project got the green light, as did the Marina.

Folks can still voice their opinion, but does anyone believe that it will prevent this marina, when so many community members appeared in person and passionately argued against it to no avail?

Money and power have very strong influence in the decision making, and honest rational argument falls on deaf ears.

I guess that my thought was, as a visitor, it's not my place to try and sway opinion either way. I can see pros and cons to this project, but it's not my home (yet), so I don't really feel like I should have a say.

Will long term construction stop me from staying on the Coral Bay side? - No. I understand that construction of this size and scope will be a long process, but I wouldn't stay away because of it.

These people are insane. Their bizarre PDF is a pitch to attract funding, and at $150M, they will never get it, approvals notwithstanding. The only question is how much of a mess they would make before they go the way of Pond Bay. Best to nip it in the bud.

All the best,

Kevin

The document linked above is two years old news. Yep, the pitch got whittled down to a no-dredge marina in two phases, with no mega-yacht option.

Check out the Coral Bay Community Council's comments and the DPNR application:

http://www.coralbaycommunitycouncil.org/

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=9F78A94D ... oaOvMjo0wg

Cheers, RickG

Does anyone if the "Le Petit Maisons" of Phase 2 exists? If so where is this part of the project located ? I see on the Summers End PDF it states - Phase 2 "Pre-sales, engineering and preliminary road prep complete"

Rick: "Yep, the pitch got whittled down to a no-dredge marina in two phases, with no mega-yacht option."

Well, according to Summer's End's currently submitted plans:
"Dock H offers a total of 21 slips. Eight slips on the on the [word repeat in original] perimeter of Dock H will accommodate yachts from 121 feet to 225 feet. The remaining 13 interior Dock H slips will also accommodate vessels in the 121 to 225 foot range"

From Wikipedia: "A superyacht generally refers to any yacht (sail or power) above 24 m (79 ft) and a megayacht generally refers to any yacht over 50 metres (164 ft)."

The reason that this proposed marina is so enormous, extending 60% of the way to Fortsberg, is that they remain intent on attracting the megayacht crowd.

All the best,

Kevin

Coconuts, well, perhaps. But, option 1 for the megyacht club is not in the permit app. Its a no-dredge plan and the depths in Coral Bay are a challenge for a lot of those mega yachts. It looks like phase 1 is in the shallower section of the bay, right? I'm not defending anything here, just reading the very voluminous permit submission and doing a small amount of reconciling the two year old pitch with the permit submission.

One of the things that really stood out in the Coral Bay Community Council's response is the challenges of the proposed site with regard to weather. The eastern shore of the bay is in the lee of Fortsberg - looks like a better location.

Cheers, RickG