Sirenusa Units Hit the Market

Sirenusa, the luxury condominium resort located high above Cruz Bay, has finally hit both the rental market and the MLS.

A bit of background: Sirenusa (pronounced “seer-a-NU-sa”) has been in the news on and off over the years, as many residents strongly voiced their opinions for and against its development years back. The property subsequently fell into bankruptcy and was purchased by Puerto Rico-based Banco Popular. Catalus Capital, a Connecticut-based investment firm, stepped in earlier this year and officially acquired 14 units early last month.

Of those 14 units, two are being offered for sale; two are currently being offered as rental units; four are being furnished and will hit the rental market later this month; and six are being held back for investment purposes and may become long-term rentals down the road.

Let’s start with the units listed for sale:

For starters, they are pretty spectacular looking. The first unit is a three bedroom, 3.5 bath upper unit, which is listed for It’s listed for $1,190,000. It’s 2,188 square feet and located in the J Building, which is in the front of the resort. (Click here to see the listing.)

The second is a two-bedroom, 2.5 bath unit listed for $950,000. The 1,854 square foot unit is located on the lower floor of the H Building, which is also located in front of the resort. (Click here to see that listing.)

Now on to the rentals:

The two units currently offered as vacation rentals are called Milan and Sienna. Milan is a two bedroom, 2.5 bath condo. It is currently renting between $475 and $625 a night. Sienna is larger with three bedrooms and 3.5 baths. That unit currently ranges between $550 and $750 a night depending on the season. They are currently running a special, however, and are offering 25 percent off until February, excluding holiday weeks. You can check out the units by clicking here and typing Sirenusa into the search bar.

Now let’s get back to the controversy:

Sirenusa was originally slated to be a 47-unit development; however it’s since been scaled back to a 22-villa resort. (The remaining eight properties are independently owned.) As we mentioned, people were pretty passionate against its construction, and many were stunned and angered when the Legislature overrode the governor’s veto to give Sirenusa a variance to change the zoning from R-2, residential, low density, to R-3 residential, medium density.

So we asked Marek Olszewski, Managing Partner at Catalus Capital, how he planned to sway the public’s potentially negative opinion about Sirenusa. This is what he had to say:

“I’m definitely very sensitive and aware to the controversy surrounding the property being built, especially in the planning stages,” Marek said. “I’d like to emphasize how it’s been scaled back significantly than what was proposed by the developer. It is much more modest in terms of size and density. I also know that there was a concern locally because of the steel structure that was in the lower part of the site. That since has been taken down and there will be no construction of any sort on that part of the property.”

In the short time Catalus Capital has been involved with Sirenusa, Marek said they have been “good local participants” and that they plan to continue supporting the community through various efforts. They recently made a donation to Woody’s Save Second Base event, and they have hired all local contractors, inspectors, landscapers and more in an effort to assist the local economy.

Sirenusa is holding its grand opening party on November 22. The event will feature a charity auction, and all proceeds will be donated to the Animal Care Center. Marek said Catalus Capital also plans to make a cash donation to the ACC at that time.