March 4, 2002 – Plans for a new hotel/office complex, marina and public park at the site of the old Yacht Haven Hotel and on adjacent property received praise from unusual quarters Monday night at a St. Thomas Coastal Zone Management Committee public hearing.
Although she had other reservations, Erva Denham, president of the League of Women Voters, expressed strong approval of the environmental assessment report submitted by the developer for the project.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Denham said she was "very pleased to say how well prepared and organized it is. It is very well done. Even though it is four volumes, it was actually a pleasure to go through it."
The league is known for being a stickler in reviewing such reports.
Denham said the league's concerns about the planned redevelopment are "how it will affect the downtown historic district and downtown shopping." She noted that the project "would be basically a continuation of the West Indian Co. dock and Havensight properties."
Insignia Nautica is the third company to purchase the Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina since Hurricane Marilyn struck in 1995, devastating the hotel. Since then, the property has stood as a blight, the decaying remains of the buildings greeting cruise ship passengers passing by on their way to and from shopping in downtown Charlotte Amalie. It has earned itself the sobriquet "Rat Haven " from residents expressing their embarrassment over the derelict structures.
The new owners of the property are ready to raze the structure and proceed with rebuilding as soon as they get the necessary permits. Monday night's hearing was the first in a series of procedures to gain government approval for the project. The CZM permits must be approved by the committee, the Legislature and the governor.
Insignia Nautica acquired major interest in the four-acre Yacht Haven property last July. It submitted an 800-page application for the permits to the St. Thomas CZM Committee on Jan. 9. (See "Latest Yacht Haven owners file for CZM permits".)
The committee is scheduled to decide on the three permits needed — one for the hotel and retail space, one for the marina and one for a public park — at its next meeting, set for 5 p.m. March 13. The meeting will take place in the conference room in the Planning and Natural Resources Department offices on the second floor of the Cyril E. King Airport terminal.
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