June 13, 2002 – Sen. Roosevelt David is making a pitch on behalf of a group of investors interested in revisiting the idea of developing a marina for recreational vessels as part of the long-awaited Enighed port and cargo dock project on St. John. But officials working closely with the project say a marina was ruled out long ago, and it's too late to go back now.
David said in a release this week that he has "spoken with investors on St. John who are willing to form a partnership with the government to fund the marina portion of the project."
That statement came as a surprise to St. John Administrator Julien Harley and to Darlan Brin, the Port Authority senior planner who has been shepherding the Enighed project through its pre-development stages.
Harley said the original plans for the project, which date back to the '1970s, called for a marina, but the idea was dropped around 1994 because "it was too expensive." Since then, he said, designers working with the Port Authority have found other uses for the space.
According to sources knowledgeable about the matter but wishing not to be identified, the marina idea was dropped not only because it was too costly to build but also because it appeared there was no way for a private concern to recover its investment.
David, too, said the idea was dropped because of cost considerations, but he also said that including the marina at this point would in "no way" delay the start of the project. Brin disagrees.
Brin said he was approached recently by an individual who expressed interest in marina development at Enighed. However, he said, revamping the plans to include one at this point would require new designs and going through the permitting process all over again. The Port Authority has gotten a permit approved by the Coastal Zone Management Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "for a cargo port only," he said, "and the space that was allocated in the past for a marina has been designated for mitigation purposes."
The space shown in an early architect's rendering as a private docking facility for recreational boats is now part of a federally mandated mitigation initiative intended to replace mangroves that will be destroyed once the port construction gets under way.
After nearly 25 years of waiting for funding and walking permits through the bureaucratic maze, the Enighed project is inching towards reality, officials say. Port Authority and Public Finance Authority representatives met last week to discuss the steps in approaching the bond market for capital funds. The Port Authority this week began inviting developers interested in contracting for work on the project to contact VIPA.
Brin said he would be on St. John Thursday to present an update on the Enighed project at a meeting in Harley's office.
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