The bank that helped finance construction of the Pond Bay Club at Chocolate Hole was rebuffed by the Coastal Zone Management agency in its effort to assume the permit for the resort. The St. John Source reported CZM unanimously rejected the application by WestLB AG.
According to CZM, only the developer can request a transfer. And Bob Emmett's First American Development, which has been trying to build Pond Bay for more than a decade is having none of that idea. FirstAmerican owes millions to the bank and to many local contractors, too.
Emmet said the project is about 65 percent complete, the Source reported.
StJohnJulie posted at Virgin-islands-On-Line that, "The only people working at Pond Bay right now are security guards. The people of Pond Bay are still confident that they will get the funds they need to complete the project, but I am not as sure it will happen the way they want it to." She explained she also has a personal interest in the Club.""I also don't want this project to sit uncompleted… My husband is one of the subcontractors who works on the project so I should know w,
- The St. John Source's report is at http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/local-news/2009/12/30/german-based-bank-denied-czm-permit-pond-bay-club
- Here's the recent Pond Bay thread at VIOL http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147409-i432-k3290104-l23502918-Pond_Bay_Club-St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html#23502918
I have always felt that Pond Bay was not suited to the spirit of St John. Its problems only reinforce that feeling.
Pond Bay must get completed. It will be a great addition to the St John community.