Real Estate

While reading on the deck of Blue Tang, we looked up to see one of those pesky helicopters buzzing us.  (Click the photo for a larger picture.)

Mrs. Inquiring Iguana
was feeding her baby Iguanas in the trees at the time. She noticed a
door on the chopper was open; possibly with a photographer shooting
publicity pictures for the new Pond Bay Club project which is
on the other side of the hill. At least we won’t hear
that development.  It is supposed to break ground next month.

For years, Peter Bay has been the island’s most
exclusive and expensive neighborhood. Located on the north shore of
the island, between Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay, multimillion dollar homes have populated
the hillside as they offered million dollar views of the BVIs. Now,
clearing for a new house has given us an easy look at some of those
gorgeous homes in the gated development. Here are a few of them. Click
each photo for a larger version. THIS is what living large is all about.

Open less than a year; Infusions Lounge has been listed for sale with an asking price of $175,000.  Serving "Not your average martini," Infusions has become a popular spot for limin’, wine tastings, and listening to live music, including Sinatra-sound-alike Marty Beech. (Click the photos for larger images.)

The casual bar is located in what’s known as the old Oscar’s building, so named because Oscar’s convenience store used to be on the first floor.  Then a fire swept through the building a few years ago.  The structure’s been rebuilt and … not … it’s for sale, too!  Infusions is renting one floor, there’s a long term lease on the second floor, and the third floor is, as the Multiple Listing Service description says, "still flexible for office, retail or residential use."  Asking price, $2.55 million.

If you think St. John is a great place to relax now, you should have seen it 40 years ago, as the Sprauve Family did during their summer vacations while living on St. Thomas. (Click on the photo for a bigger version.)

"There was a large open area where Wharfside Village is today that was used as a cricket field, when it was dry enough," wrote Jan Frey in an article about the Sprauves for the St. John Historical Society. "Where the Post Office is located today, there were goat pens. The goats would spend their nights there and be taken to an area just past where Mongoose Junction is to graze during the days. There was no road past the bottom of the hill, so the goats grazing area was fenced and gated."

Look at this startling comparison of Cruz Bay, in 1956 and in 2006.

The Society has an extensive Web site which includes old photos of the island, historical documents and articles, postcards, maps, and slide shows. 

The St., John Historical Society’s next meeting will be March 13th at Bethany Moravian Church in downtown Cruz Bay at 7 p.m.  Elroy Sprauve will speak on St. John’s distinctive Creole dialect.

One of the island’s next big residential developments is going to be from there and gone – at Estate Hansen Bay on East End.  You get there by driving through Coral Bay, past Skinny’s, past Vie’s Snack Shack, and keep on going.

The Coastal Zone Management Committee gave its approval Thursday for about 75 acres to be subdivided into 13 residential lots by Robert Carney’s Flamboyant Realty Services.  CZM backed Flamboyant’s proposal to build mostly 12-foot roads through the area, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News.  Carney says the owners of the property are in no hurry to sell the lots, although he expects the roadwork will be finished by the end of the year.

An ecologist who surveyed the area in advance of CZM’s approval, Gary Ray, said he found three rare plant species on the site.  He also praised Carney for planning to cut roads more narrow and usual because it keeps more vegetation intact, the newspaper reported.

The territory’s new Virgin Islands Senator At Large, Carmen Wesselhoft, issued a news release saying she had a working lunch with Governor John deJongh Jr. during which she highlighted her concerns about real estate development on St. John "related to leases that have not yet been granted."  She said she asked that the Department of Natural Resources look into the matter.

The matter of leases is a new one, but it may just be a misunderstanding, the Inquiring Iguana believes.  She may really be talking about zoning. DPNR is considering at least one development issue involving the Sirenusa condo project, but there has been no public discussion about leases.  Iguana thinks the Senator is confused, and what she really means is real estate development on island, not retail or commercial leasing issues.

Wesselhoft also said she is eager for a new Police Commissioner to be named, and for a teacher
shortage at the Guy Benjamin School in Coral Bay to be addressed, according to the Senator’s release which was published by the St. John Source.

The Tax Assessor’s Office missed even its own seven-months late deadline.  "We have worked long and hard to ensure these bills would be mailed at the end of January," Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis told the St. John Source.  But they weren’t.  Now, Francis said, the 2005 property tax bills will be in the mail by this Friday, the 11th.  The bills were originally to be mailed in June 2006.

Gov. John deJongh has said he will try to make sure that the territory-wide property reassessment project does not mean sky high increases for locals.  But while he can do his best to make sure the valuations are fair and equal, he can do little about the fact property owners are likely to get two tax bills this year. 

The 2005 bills are due to go into the mail within a few weeks, six months late. The Governor indicated it is likely the bills for 2006 will be mailed this summer, too.  "If anyone is not paying attention to why change is needed, hitting them in the pocketbook will certainly wake them up," the Governor said in his State of the Territory address.

The Lt. Gov.’s office said property tax bills for 2005 will be mailed by the end of the month.  A government spokesperson blamed the 7-month delay on the traditional excuse of  "a computer software problem."  There also were "printing issues," the government representative told the St. John Source.

Here’s why you should care about this even if you don’t own property on St. John.  Villa rental rates could explode.

Read moreProperty taxes to be mailed