Real Estate

Representatives of the Tax Assessor will be walking through houses on St. John early next year as part of the territory’s tax reassessment project.  Data collectors will measure properties, and count the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, Sally Powers told a town meeting on the "Perils of Rapid Development," organized by VI Sen. Craig Barshinger at the Westin Resort.  Powers is project manager for the property revaluation. 

She said commercial properties have already been reviewed, and owners have received statements telling them the results, but not the actual tax bills, according to the St. John Source.

Concern about the development of St. John were also heard, as the former Commissioner for Planning and Natural Resources said the department "got it wrong" while he was there, failing to plan for the future.  Alan Smith pointed out the island’s explosive growth began after 1995 and hurricane Marilyn.  He was commissioner from 1987-1991.  Smith suggested taxes paid on real estate transfers be increased to discourage speculation and "flipping."

The office of the Tax Assessor is blaming the government’s new residential property reevaluation project for failing to send out this year’s property tax bills.  Taxes usually are due August 31.  But the assessor, Roy Martin, told the St. John Source the Finance Department has not ironed out technical problems with new computer software which is part of the reassessment.  He said the bills are ready to be mailed but collections could not occur until Finance straightens things out.

Late word from St. Thomas is that there will be a second public hearing on the request by Atlantic Northstar LLC to build condominiums overlooking Rendezvous and Fish Bays.  A representative of the developer told a Coral Bay Community Council Monday night that the project has been scaled down from 44 to 36 units.

The land is currently zoned to permit about 24 single family homes.  Word of the new hearing came on the heels of a petition drive by neighborhood residents and business owners protesting the project’s likely impact on the environment, runoff into the bays, and residential density.  One source reported 600 anti-signatures were collected while supporters of the developer were said to produce some 300 names.

Atlantic Northstar LLC is based in St Croix, where its interests include the gaming business and slot machines.  The company owns several properties on St. John, including a residence at Peter Bay, the Palm Plaza shopping center near the Westin resort, and a half-acre site on Lavender Hill overlooking Cruz Bay where it is developing 15 condominiums.  The $7 million condo project, to be known as The Lantern, will include a health spa, fitness center, motion studio and below-grade parking, according to a news release from the design company, William M. Karr and Associates.

Island source reports there have been 500 signatures collected in opposition to the Rendezvous condo project on top of Gifft Hill and Fish Bay.  "I don’t know what good they’re going to, however," he added.

lament

the air is different now
even at six am the back hoes clatter on the hillsides
chunking away at the earth with voracious steel jaws
as if they want to devour everything in sight
even at nine pm the cement trucks roll in the dark
pouring, pouring, pouring
filling up the soft green spaces with their concrete cargo
the night breezes at catherinberg are hollow now
as if the soul of the place has been choked
by the constant belching of suv’s
…
beneath the feet of strangers
…
the air is different now
i feel its hollow spaces everywhere

  Bev Melius
                Excerpted from the St. John Sun Times

Vocal opponents are protesting plans for a proposed 10-building, 44-unit condominium project on 5.6 acres above Rendezvous Bay. 

Atlantic Northstar LLC, the developer, told a meeting of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, it wants a group dwelling permit.  The land is currently approved for construction of 38 units.  The company said a condo complex would be less damaging to the environment.

Locals and off-islanders have received e-mails from Gretchen Labrenz of Cruz Bay Realty soliciting letters of complaint and objection to the project be faxed to Ms. Marjorie Emanuel at DPNR.  And an "emergency meeting" was organized by Nanci Shekleton, urging Fish Bay, Rendezvous and Gifft Hill residents to organize and consider hiring an attorney to fight the project.

(Here is more information.  Click on it to read it or download it by putting your mouse on the file name, right clicking, and saving it your hard disk. Download atlanticnorthstare.doc)

During the DPNR public hearing Charles McCallion, a partner in Atlantic Northstar, said, "We are not here to damage your island; we are not here to create problems – we are here as businessmen to develop what we have acquired legally." St. John attorney Brion Morissette reportedly replied, "This will not benefit the community.  It will only serve to maximize the off-island developer’s profits."

Labrenz said she is encouraging people in opposition to the Northstar plan to fax letters to Marjorie Emanuel at the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, office at the Cyril King Airport Terminal on St. Thomas (340) 714-9534.  The deadline for the public to comment is July 8.

The developers of the Grande Bay Resort condominium project heard angry reactions this week to their plans for their Cruz Bay development.

Bay Isles Associates requested a zoning change for two small land parcels which are part of the venture. The plan is to open a 10-12 table restaurant and a retail shop. But area residents who attended a Planning and Natural Resources zoning hearing objected.

Parking was the main issue, according to a report of the meeting by the St. John Source. Residents also complained about the condo project in general, anticipating noise, traffic congestion, and blocked views of the bay.

St. John architect Rob Crane said Grand Bay’s authorization was possible only through "a loophole" in Coastal Zone Management Rules. He complained development is stressing the island’s infrastructure, saying developers are "making money and we’re paying for it."

The reason for the zoning request change, from waterfront-pleasure to residential-medium density, was not clear, even to Grande Bay’s representatives. Kelly Frye, a partner, told the Source it was necessary to have the entire land area under the same zoning category.

Developers of the Grande Bay Resort project at Cruz Bay have announced they have added an additional building with 14 more residences. Celia Kalousek, the developer liaison, e-mailed last week there are four unsold units in the new building, ranging in price from $576,00 to $1 million. She has floor plans and pricing information available, at 340-715-3167. (This is not an advertisement.)

Meanwhile, excavation for the project appears to be complete. Lots more "blue bitch" rock than they expected, which is why real estate sources suggest a completion date of Fall, 2006 – a year later than originally expected.

The founder of Maho Bay Camps has begun selling one-acre lots near his resort for new villas.  And Stanley Selengut has a $20 million construction plan too for land he owns near Concordia to include dozens of villas, a yoga center, restaurant, recycled arts center, and some eco-tents, according to the St. John Source.  The winner of honors, awards and praise for his environmentally-friendly Maho Bay development, Selengut told the online newspaper he is first and foremost a businessman.  Now 75, Selengut said he owns land near Maho as well as six acres on the road that runs toward Lameshur where he hopes to build a shopping area, parking garage and condominiums.

Read moreMaho Bay founder plans development

The number of residences offered through the Multiple Listing Service now stands at 66, at least 20-25 percent more than a year ago.  And while the MLS listings did get as high as 69 a few weeks ago, there has been movement of properties on and off the list, and agents say pricing is holding steady.  Of the houses listed currently, 14 are priced at $1 million or less, and about 90 percent of them are on the Coral Bay end of the island.  The $1-$2 million range is where the action is, 26 properties are offered, again most Coral Bay-ish until you get to $1.5 million when Fish Bay and Chocolate Hole residences appear.  The least expensive listed property is a 1-bedroom, 1-bath Carolina house priced at $500,000.  The other end is Cliffhouse (pictured), a 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath Peter Bay property, with hot tub and pool, priced at $13.9 million.