You have got to be kidding me
Another planned development project for Gibbs Bay. 323 Units total.
This is in addition to the 268 units planned at Aquarius . Here is an overlay of a satellite image of the area, with the basic plan of each development on top:
According to their website this resort is also planning 8 restaurants, a food market, a night club, a spa, a 25000 square foot conference area, a casino, 2 tennis courts and parking for 400 vehicles.
I'm telling you, I don't think any of these people have actually seen this section of land. If they are planning to stuff all of this in along with whatever amenities the Aquarius project is planning, they are going to have to build a structure 20 stories high to fit it in.
If you look at the top portion of the picture you can see the Tamarind Hill area, where there are about 40 homes. 40! They do have large lot sizes, ranging from maybe 900 square meters to 1400 square meters - it is going to be a huge difference between those lots and the ant warren that will be Gibbs Bay when these jerks are finished.
The Century 21 website says the deluxe units at Aquarius are priced at $1.4 Million, and the Aquarius website plan shows the total area for one of those units at 187 square meters. Thats $7486.63 per square meter. Nice right? What are building costs per square meter these days?
I am not only enraged by these plans because of the environment, but also because of the opportunist nature of these developments. "Hey", I imagine is how the conversation goes, "there is no property tax and all those baby boomers are thinking about retiring in a sunny place! Let's make some money! Then we can take all the spoils and retire to somewhere with less traffic and less crime, and some open spaces."
Meanwhile, on an island where the minimum wage is.. what? Something like Fls. 1100 (US$620) the chances of people who live here full time and work here full time (and pay taxes here) buying a home in on of these developments is getting smaller and smaller. And as the open land becomes built up with concrete luxury homes which will only be lived in for 4 months out of the year, the places for outdoor recreation become limited to areas which are businesses, where you must pay to park and pay to get in.
12 comments:
Jess, I am so with you on this. I just made a big post on traveltalkonline about this. It's especially dear to me as it's being built on a bay that carries my family name. I swear, the dutch side won't be happy until they've paved over EVERY bit of green space on the coast. Soon they'll move inland and the whole island will be luxury homes. And people complain about the traffic now? Goodness. So sad.
Hey gibber. I know, I am so sad. Your family must be sad about it too. You should come by Gibbs Bay when you are on island to enjoy the area before it all goes bye bye. Have you seen the SXM Private Eye section on Red Pond/Gibbs Bay? They have interesting information.
I could rave for hours about this. In my opinion the Dutch side needs to institute a property tax and very strict zoning laws. Anyone who wants to build a massive resort here should be paying heavy taxes to fund the changes in infrastructure that will be required.
You forgot the lazy river and swimming pool - the only one on the island! I don't know about anyone else, but I go to an island so I can swim in the ocean, not a pool. If I wanted to swim in a pool, I would save all my money and stay at home!
I had the worst traffic ever on my trip the other week. I got so tired of being stuck in traffic and not being able to find a parking place anywhere that I was getting bitchy and launching into rants about it constantly. This is not how I want to spend my vacation. I can't imagine how much worse it will be once all these mega resorts open up.
Hey island girl. I know, what the hell is a lazy river?
Gibbs Bay is the only place on the island where I have been able to go for long walks without worrying about getting run over. It is beautiful and quiet. If you have dogs you can let them run on the beach. Every year someone collects beach refuse like old buoys and dead branches and makes himself a beach hut. One of my neighbors used to go and do the Salute to the Sun on that beach every morning, while her dogs romped in the ocean. It is a beautiful spot. It's about to be gone forever.
Hey Jess. I have checked out private eye's stuff on this saga - very informative. You know, i haven't been to that area since i was a kid. I don't remember much about it. When i come down for Christmas, I'll check it out. Is it still easily accessable? How would I get there from the French Side?
hi gibber. do you know the way to dawn beach? if you take Naked Boy hill it is the first gate on your right (Tamarind Hill), you have to pass through the security guard to get there, you just tell them you are going to the beach.
if you come from the French side and come through Oyster Pond, you will pass the new Westin, then drive over a terrible bumpy road, then pass the gate to Dawn Beach Estates on your left, and then you will be at the Tamarind hill gate.
Aquarius has a trailer there at the moment, and cleared area around their property lines, but thats it so far.
As an environmental group, we are also paying close attention to the overbuilding of the Dutch side.
It seems that our government has gone completely mad.
Gibbes bay also happens to be a turtle nesting beach, did the developers mention this and say how they will be protecting the turtles?
The Dutch side of the island can count more that 10 large developments being constructed at the same time at this moment.
Our infastructure is bursting out at the seams and yet most St.Maarten people are sitting on the sidelines allowing everything to happen around them.
As island people living here we should all start to speak out that our neighboirhoods are being encroached by super large developments.
While politicians are publically saying that development cannot be stopped, they are doing absolutely nothing to phase out the development projects.
The plan should be to put a moratotorium on large planning permits, large building projects, take stock of what we have, and inventorise what we have and what we will be needing further down 20 years.
If we do not put a moratorium in place right now, we will be looking at an over built island with no further development possible in future years as there will be nothing left.
The environment will be shot to hell, and since everything else is dependant on a clean and healthy environment, we can expect the worse for traffic, health, crime,joblessness,and in the end ....less tourists.
In this entire mess, our infastructure is being neglected, if we have a catastrophe our hospital cannot handle it, our police force is understaffed and under equipped.
I do hope more tourists to SXM, will also take the time to write the tourist office, and send your negative comments about the over developments.
Jess, you have a great blog.
Pride Foundation - you are absolutely right. I hope my people wake up before they have no island to speak of anymore...
Jess, your blog keeps me connected to my island, so i really appreciate all your posts!
I've been coming to St. Maarten for years, but I just spent last week in Bonaire (my first visit there), and you know it's starting to look pretty good compared to St. Maarten. If St. Maarten continues unbridled and unplanned growth, the "St. Maarten experience" will be more and more like being in the States, and if I wanted to vacation in someplace that was like the States, well, I'd just stay here!
You are doing some nice work with this site. I like your clear cut approach on the issues and you sound like what a sxm should be. We need more people like you and continue with the good work.
I'm really worry about the infrastructure. Last Christmas it took us almost 45 minutes to get to my parents house from the airport. If I want to sit in traffic I can do that on the 405 and save myself a $1200 ticket.
The over development on the Dutch side is out of control. First Dawn Beach, now this? Did Scavenger's relocate?
The island is not what it used to be five or seven years ago. Does the island even have zoning laws. I think everyone from the developers and the government are the only people who are happy with these new properties. Why is it that not one developer gives back to the island, not the government. Plant a tree or two give back to the island from which you are taking so much from. These developers are making sooo much money and not giving back.
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