A new luxury hotel/resort at Chocolate Hole has been approved by the island’s Coastal Zone Management Committee. The project, known as the Pond Bay Club, has been in development for several years. The Committee’s approval came with about two-dozen conditions, some dealing with environmental issues, the St.. John Source said in its report of the decision. (Click on the photo for a larger picture.)
During previous consideration of the project, there were concerns about a reverse osmosis plant the developers planned to build. It would have included a long pipe snaking out of the bay into the ocean. This week, an architect for the developers said that idea is dead and, now, Pond Bay will connect with a planned undersea water line operated by the V.I. Water and Power Authority. Any homeowner who lives between where the line comes ashore in Cruz Bay and Pond Bay’s location at Chocolate Hole could tap into it, the Source reported.
Robert Emmett, who heads up First American Development Group/Carib Limited Partnership, said construction will be complete by summer of 2009. The project is planned to include 52 two- and three-bedroom units on its 13.55 acres.