USVI-On-Line

If I had a million dollars, I'd buy a lot on Ditleff Point! Ok, so I've seen the damned entrance gate on the Cruz Bay realty page, but is there a trail to the beach still? Anybody visit there recently? Help please! Love love love that beach!

It's not so much a trail. They made a stone walkway down to the beach. It's actually kind of nice...once you get over the fact that it is entirely different from what it used to look like.

No lie...when I saw the topic of this post
those same exact words came out!!! I was just
there last week in a villa that overlooks that
sweet piece of land.

I heard that that the HD Corp owns it, not sure
if that's true or not. Anyway, lots start around
$800K and when I saw them all marked out on a
brochure it did look like it will be crowded

The stone work is beautiful and the walkway down
was real nice and set up for lighting.

Let me go and try to add a couple of photos...


Okay I'm back...
So anyway, I'd LOVE to have a lot on the cul de sac!!

Enjoy!

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I was in Rendezvous yesterday - anchored close in to Ditleff beach - 2 large concrete /stone face houses being built on the beach cliff - looking right from the beach - major runoff from their clearcutting of the lot- serious silting below -coral covered in mud- no erosion control in place - lots of workers and construction with yellow machinery - last week Klein Bay was the only beach in STJ that DPNR flagged as unsuitable for swimming - [they measure clarity and E-coli] - A million dollars might get you a lot there - no house on it - and by the time you get the next few million you need to build there probably will be no reason to go in the water except to cool off - make sure you build a road that the water trucks can turn around in too - they will be your constant visitors.
Reading the website www.ditleffpoint.com remember they call it "St John for the select Few"

Thanks Exit Zero...I'm gonna go drink now......

We were just there in Feb.. We were at House With A View on the hill above. The beach is small and very rocky. The web site is calling it a private beach, but I thought there was a law that says any beach is public. How can they call it a private beach?

Thanks for the info exitzero. That's rotten news. You'd think they would WANT to protect the coral. I always forget how money is, for a majority, the bottom line. Boo! I'm going to skip visiting there this trip. I would probably cry like a baby.

It certainly brings tears to my eyes but this is what progress has brought to STJ - the 1st time I sailed into Rendezvous Bay there was only one home visible from the water - now it is covered in houses - mostly rental villas - there are not many jobs on STJ that can pay the mortgages on these houses so they aren't built by residents - certainly many forumites understand this - it is their opinions and choices of amenities that drive this construction and the design of the villas - pools become a must, on an island that used to survive on rainwater, pools were a rarity - AC becomes a dealbreaker, on an island that louvered windows and fans sufficed for years, bigger houses with many bathrooms are coveted as many vacationers want to come with huge family groups or many couples, despite the septic issues and infrastructure problems - waffle irons, coffee makers, sound systems, hot tubs etc. all become serious topics of discussion.
Ditleff Point sadly is not an anomaly in the world of STJ real estate - it is happening everywhere that is not protected by the National Park.
It is the future of STJ - and it is progress - fueled by tourists and driven by American affluence - it can't go back in time but only push on to the limits of sustainability - it has 'become' the economy of STJ - The blame lies no where in particular - we all share in the current benefits, either visiting or residing here and those that visit or live here in the coming years will have more 'must haves' and the cycle will continue.
We should all enjoy what we have now, maybe lament the things that are being lost and certainly hope that the future approaches at a slower pace - our children will certainly never get to experience the STJ that we have now.
This pretty much qualifies as a rant and I apologize.

EXIT ZERO said:
This pretty much qualifies as a rant and I apologize.

...all you see, feel, and express seems very true in my opinion...well said.

Actually, Exit, that was not a rant. It was well put. Sobering and true.

Yes EZ your thoughts are well stated, "progress"
is happening everywhere and it is a shame.

Poor mother earth is really feeling the mess
of over population and will last for how long???

The lot plans for Ditleff showed approx 32
Sounds like a sardine can to me! Although a very
beautiful spot as is now.

Thank gawd that Rockefeller was so green before
it was "in"!! At least there will be some sort of
saving grace on this most gorgeous of Virgin Isles.

Kathy

"...I'd buy you a villa, but not a real villa that's cruel..."

Exit Zero, I'm 100% with what you say. I restrain myself from that vein of comment most of the time on the forum, but anyone who loves these islands can't keep quiet all the time. The major fault is not so much with the ignorant owners or greedy/sloppy builders, it's with our unbelievably ignorant and greedy government, that will not put any restrictions on how steep a slope can be built on, how big a house can be in relation to its lot, etc., and almost never enforces the regulations that are in place.
It's ironic that someone mentioned Laurance Rockefeller here, because he owned Ditliff in the 1950's. It was not included within the authorized boundaries of the Park, and it was one of the areas he was hoping to trade for something more tourist accessible. It was sold to a group of friends and business associates who were all connected with the Dow Chemical Co. It is their heirs who are selling now.

Between this and the fact that I am convinced that Maho is going to become a Sandals resort or a Wyndham timeshare when the lease runs out in 2012, I am beginning to wonder if the St. John as we know it will soon be lost. Of course, I feel really greedy that I even want to vacation there. Even though I don't stay in the new luxury villas and prefer to just stay in modest homes that have been there for a while (and our next trip we'll be in Samuels Cottages), I still feel like we have all created the demand for these new villas with all their fancy things.

I really wish that the government could get a handle on development and reign it in. But much like many communities stateside, they are listening to the almighty dollar and won't realize what they've done until it's too late.