St. Thomas Real Estate Trends

As reported recently in the Virgin Islands Daily News:

In a decision with major implications for development on the territory's offshore cays, a large-scale residential development has been permitted for a rocky island north of St. Thomas.

The St. Thomas Coastal Zone Management Committee voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow the luxury Thatch Cay Ocean and Beach Club to be built during the next decade.

Thatch Cay LLC, of which Paul Lange of Atlanta and Isaac Levy of California are principals, had applied to build 101 homes and 24 support buildings on Thatch. The roughly 230-acre island lies about half a mile north of Coki Point.

Project architect Robert deJongh thanked CZM for its confidence and support. "We recognize that this is a major undertaking, and we pledge to you that we will do a fine job," he said.

Lange could not say how soon construction would begin or how much the development was projected to cost.

The project will include a community center, clubhouses, yoga pavilion, spa, two dining areas, two tennis courts, sewage treatment plants, a reverse osmosis plant, generators, a fuel storage facility, 21-slip dock, 25 boat moorings and a helicopter landing area.

Of the three artificial beach areas the developers proposed to construct, the CZM committee allowed only two to go forward. A beach proposed for Stony Bay on the island's western end is not permissible because it could send sand to the sea in storm surges, CZM staff said. The sand could damage federally threatened elkhorn coral.

CZM attached another 21 special conditions to the major land and water permit - including a requirement that the developers pay for CZM to hire at least one independent permit compliance monitor.

Other special conditions included:

- No pump-out or refueling services can be provided at the permitted dock, and no additional docks will be permitted for any future development on Thatch Cay.

- No more than 25 boats can be moored in the mooring field, and five moorings must be reserved for the public. No live-aboard boats are allowed in the area.

- The Crown Bay dock shall be the primary staging area for moving construction materials to Thatch Cay. The Red Hook dock is only to be used when Crown Bay is unavailable.

- No topsoil may be taken to the cay for landscaping.

- The developers must reach a memorandum of understanding with the V.I. Division of Fish and Wildlife regarding the endangered Virgin Islands tree boa, which may be present on the island.

- The developers must develop a formal plan to remove Thatch Cay's hundreds of feral goats in consultation with federal and local authorities.

- No water from constructed swimming pools can be discharged into the ocean.

The developers will pay $35,000 per year for 20 years as an occupancy fee for using submerged lands. The company will build a 316-foot-long dock and a 60-foot-wide barge landing at Eva Point on Thatch Cay's southeast shore.

The St. Thomas CZM Committee's decision Tuesday was a departure from other recent decisions regarding development of offshore cays.

Last June, the committee rejected a proposal to carve 162-acre Great St. James into 53 lots for private residences. And in October, the committee turned down an application to subdivide 26 acres into 16 residential lots in Inner Brass.

Thatch Cay LLC, however, offered more detailed plans on infrastructure and public services. Those issues included providing power and water, collecting trash, disposing of sewage and keeping the island safe.

The developers will install a submarine cable from Coki Point to provide V.I. Water and Power and Authority electricity to the project. They also will cluster sewage treatment systems on the island and pay all costs to transport solid waste to the Bovoni Landfill.

Thatch Cay LLC will provide full-time security on the island and work with the V.I. Fire Service to train staff to respond to fires.

Committee chairman Austin Monsanto and members Sarah Simmonds, Winston Adams, Fern LaBorde and Henry Harrigan were present for Tuesday's meeting.