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Grande Bay uses the ‘B’ word

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On the one hand, the news is good about what’s going on down on the waterfront at the Grande Bay condo project.  Work on many units is complete, buyers have gone to closing, and inspectors have signed Certificates of Occupancy. Some of the condos are occupied.

On the other hand, nine units on two upper floors have not closed. The developers say they need the money from those sales to finish the project. They are blaming an island family’s lawsuit for their problem.

The matter came to another head this week in V.I. Superior Court, during a hearing covered by the Virgin Islands Daily NewsRead the story here.

Bay Isle Associates testified that the lawsuit by the Jadan family and Liza Trey, claiming their property value has been damaged by the project, has prevented closing on condos. 

No closing = no money changes hands. The Daily News reported an attorney from St. Thomas said that because of the Jadan-Trey claims, buyers cannot get title insurance and so won’t complete their purchases.

Proceeds from those sales are so critical, said Grande Bay’s general partner, that bankruptcy is possible, according to the Daily News story.  David Band told the court the project’s Florida developers had to go to friends to raise $10 million dollars for a construction loan payment that had come due. 

Bankruptcy, "the B word", is the last thing anyone wants to think about Grande Bay.  While the darn thing is unbelievably big, crammed onto 1.03 acres, it’s there and it’s not going away.  You just hope that the folks who have watched this project, since ground breaking in 2003 and well past the original completion target of 2006, will try like heck to make sure the next commercial development doesn’t run off the rails, too. (Maybe Pastory Gardens? Lots of commercial interest in that beautiful site up Centerline Road.)

11 thoughts on “Grande Bay uses the ‘B’ word”

  1. My heart goes out to Bay Isle Associates and their financial problems. Imagine being sued by Jadan/Tray for blocking their view/breezes. They were hoping to just run them over and they would go away. Then there was the Roger Harland lawsuit. They are just misunderstood Cruz Bay developers. Go getem Jadan/Trey/Harland. There is a right and WRONG way to develope property.

  2. Wa-Wa-Wa! Cryin’ all the way to bankruptcy court! Serves them right! The locals have much more rights than the greed-hungry developers that are taking over this beautiful island! Enough is Enough, as far as development goes on St. John! If the Govt. was smart, they would place a law in place to cease the building on the island , (at least, commercially), so we could save our beautiful Island from becoming another St. Thomas!!!

  3. I do not live on St.John but I enjoy traveling to your lovely island. I believe for St. John less is more—preserve the island and the land.

  4. Let me build my house and then no more!!!….ever!
    Get real people. You know, there are islands in the Caribbean that are just like the St John of yesteryear. Go check them out and see how much you enjoy them. But be warned, there’s no hourly ferry service or imported cheese to be had.
    By the way, why don’t you ask the Trey’s if they ever considered building condos on their property?

  5. I hear ther are also law suits from owners who have not gotten what they paid for. Shotty construction and materials. I hope they go under and that Jaden/Trey win in court.

  6. Pastory Gardens is up for sale??? Must be a bigger parcel than it appears if condos are a possibility. It would have to go UP. 🙁

  7. Here we all go again! When trouble arises the first line of defense is “oh pity poor me, I am not going to make my millions” fear tactics. Did we not hear this same shameful sob story from the Sirenusa developer? How did Grand Bay get permission to block that beauty from those behind them? Lets all hope and pray justice will prevail on the side of RIGHT this time for the Jaden/Trey families. I also have a “B” word for Grand Bay!

  8. Parker, you have completely missed the point! St Johnians, Virgin Islanders, and locals are not against proper development. We are against bad development plans and the corruption in government agencies and local officials that give approval.

  9. Just saying – I hear you. And I’m certainly not praising Grande Bay – it’s a tumor anyway you look at it (and believe me, I try not to). My point was in reaction to the tone of alot of the VI development dialogue; which from my point of view sounds hypocritical when comfort-loving people yearn for a fantasy driven vision of a pristine and preserved Virgin Islands. They just ain’t – haven’t been since the 70’s.

  10. The people who buy these condos that are jammed onto small parcels that were obviously going to appear so out of place in Cruz Bay are as much to blame as any developers and the local real estate sales force that gladly collects their commissions. The court cases are likely to be decided on the rule of law and not affected as much as the local politics.

  11. I have a question: at what point does a St John property owner undergo the transformation from being a “carpetbagger,” – someone who can be blamed for greedy, exploitative fouling of the land – into being an “island family,” a “local,” a “native Virgin Islander,” or “belonger?” Is it how long ago you or your family first arrived? 5 years ago? 20? If you can prove descent from the Tainos, Arawaks or Caribs? Or is it something more like where on the island you own property? Or how much your home is worth? Or is it simply whether or not you live and/or work on St John? As an example, let’s say I’m a rich continental snowbird who owns a villa in Chocolate Hole, and I then choose to deliver a baby in the Virgin Islands. Is my child not then a “native-born Virgin Islander”? I’m really not trying to stir up trouble – I think the legislature is wrestling with this very question, and maybe the community needs to start having some honest dialogue about it. I have to say I don’t like the undercurrent of a lot of what I read in this blog and elsewhere. There seems to be an extremely divisive, and in my opinion, misplaced, “us vs. them” mentality. Wasn’t everybody a newcomer at one point and aren’t we all rooting for the same thing – a healthy economy and preservation of the beauty of the island? What am I missing?

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