what's happening to cute little st.john?...

[theoverman]

hello! first post here...
we're on our 5th trip down since the 90's...we're heading down 2nd week of march to a 'secluded' villa overlooking cruz bay and i start hearing about the big sirenusa project slammin right in the middle of the neighborhood...anybody know how much these characters are affecting the reason people come here?..we're hoping we don't have to flee the villa during daylight hours.
thanks, paul&sandy

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[Xislandgirl]

There is a lot of construction all over the island. Depending on where you will be staying, Sirenusa may be a bother unfortunately.

I know that we have all debated this issue. With popularity, comes development. People visit the island and tell more people and they visit and tell more people.

When I was a REALTOR on island, no one wanted to buy or even stay in Coral Bay, except locals. Now 10 years later, tourists want to stay in Coral Bay over Cruz Bay. Times change.

STJ will never be STT and for me that works. We all visit for different reasons and villa development doesn't bother me.

[traveler22]

Xislandgirl-
Villa development isn't the problem but Sirenusa or Grande Bay aren't villas. When they both open, are there going to be enough rental cars? parking in town? traffic jams? The view when coming over from Red hook is shocking to us veterans (as you know).What once was a beautiful island with little dots of houses/villas between the green has been ruined by these big developments. Everyone is now going to Coral bay becauce that's how Cruz bay was ONCE. Now, I'm off my soap box, and heading down next week to, as Jorge said, enjoy it while I still can!

[Xislandgirl]

I don't disagree at all but it is still a million miles away from highrise hotels on the beach.

Development comes at a cost no matter where you go. Perhaps people will figure that out one day, but those with deep pockets will still look to make more $$ and not consider the impact on anyone but themselves. Personally, I think Peter Bay is mostly made up of monstrosities built by people with more money than sense, but there are many that would disagree. I think it is a disgustingly pompous display of wealth, others find them tasteful.

I will continue to go to STJ for many years,I suspect. Large Sirenusa's withstanding, the island just "fits" me. It may no longer fit for many and I wish them luck in finding a destination that works for them.

Enjoy your trip!

[cypressgirl]

I agree with you X. Grande Bay and Sirenusa are at least not high rises, and I may stay in one at some point, but I do worry about the infrastructure of Cruz Bay handling so many more people. Can you imagine if both those developments are "to capacity" how many more people will be driving around the island and trying to park. I don't think Slimman's has enough space. And where is everyone going to go to eat? Woody's is already pouring out in the middle of the street in low season.

[patr]

X, I agree with everything you said - you will NEVER find a beach anywhere in the continental US with that glorious, prinstine sand - that's what keeps us coming back.

We prefer Coral Bay during season, but off-season we like to stay near Cruz Bay. Parking in town is a real issue, and I'm not sure if there is a solution that will satisfy everyone's needs.

Jorge - I love your new avatar!

[traveler22]

I too agree with you X and as you said "the island fits me". and to tell you the turth, in the back of my mind from the first time I stepped on St. John (1992), I knew this day would come. Doesn't make it any easier though!

[sherban]

Well, the good news is that everybody can thank Laurance Rockefeller (and John)for enabling the preservation of most of the island...something that can't be said for many other islands in the Caribbean. We are probably lucky enough to have lived in one of the nicest eras of American history....many diseases have been researched and controlled and commercial growth hasn't yet consumed the majority of the islands... I think that the Carib and Arawak have a bit more to gripe about than we do....as do native Americans. At least the growth limit of St John is somewhat calculable thanks to the Park.

Thank you Mr Rockefeller!

[Lex]

What's "happening" to STJ has been happening for decades. It's just that it's really accelerating. Grande Bay was a horror until they started work on Sirenusa. Now it doesn't seem quite so awful. When first went there in the mid-80s, we met people who told us we should have come 10 or 20 years sooner---before all the change started. We've seen a lot of change since we first went there and very little of it seems to me to be improvement. The greatest addition since our first trip has been the Colombo yogurt stand. That's my idea of "development".

Maybe at the root of what's "happening" is that money came. Developers came. Folks came who looked at those hills and instead of pristine beauty saw underutilized space which had the potential to turn a significant profit. Instead of simple West Indian-style cottages that blend into the hills, people started building larger and more opulent Mediterranean-style villas. Popularity increased, more people came, more cars came. More and more of everything came.

There's an upscaling and a gentrification process going on. The West Indian population and culture is becoming increasingly less evident on the island. A "local" now means someone who is not a tourist rather than someone born on the island or with pretty deep roots there. Even the East End is slowly being developed. But there are a lot of people who like it this way, who are more comfortable on the STJ of today. Lots of people who wouldn't have liked STJ 20 years ago are very happy with how things are now. So it's balancing out.

My wife has gotten sick of hearing me whine about the changes on STJ, so we went to VG last fall---the first time in 20 years that we stayed anywhere else in the Caribbean other than on STJ. We liked it a lot. It reminded me some of what I think STJ was when we first went there. And i was glad to just be appreciating a place, rather than lamenting what's been lost. We'll get back to STJ again sometime. I definitely want to get back to stay at Maho again before they fold up the tents.But there's just less and less of what I fell in love with there and more and more of what I don't like to be around. It has a place in my heart and I hope we can still enjoy being there, but the last time we were there I also felt a deep nostalgia and sadness for what's been lost.

[theoverman]

didn't mean to sound like a whiner, any day on stj is better than anywhere else...and this place is still perfect for us and what we like to do...

it just seems sad that the "gov't" is letting their own paradise be sold to developers and change the rules/zoning to fit their current needs disregarding everything that had gone before and makes this place special.

the best illustration of the wrongness is the ad placed by the guy who is trying to rent his villa now sitting behind grande bay headed with 'simple villa for rent, no views'.

[Lex]

Tourism is like the goose that lays the golden egg but also soils its own nest.

[Margy Z]

Well put, Lex! We, too, are waiting it out and planning to head to St. Croix again this spring. St. John has bounced back before and I hope things will level out soon.

[theoverman]

true...i am part ot the problem i complain about...i guess i should apologize to myself.

[Teresa_Rae]

If you're like I am the sight of Sirenusa and Grande Bay will make you throw up in your mouth a little, but then you can go to the beach and pretend like those monstrosities don't exist and all will be well