Beal officials repeated on Thursday that the company will appeal Territorial Court Judge Alphonso Andrews’ decision to block the land deal.
Wade Gates, Beal’s director of corporate affairs, said his office has been "flooded" with phone calls since the decision by people afraid that the company will pull out of St. Croix.
"We are reassuring local residents that we will appeal this decision, and that the law is firmly behind the Legislature’s ability to make decisions for the good of the public," Gates said.
On Wednesday Andrews granted plaintiff Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen’s request for a permanent injunction against the land swap that was approved by the Legislature on Oct. 5. The swap would have given Beal affiliate Caribbean Space Technologies 14.5 acres of public land known as Camp Arawak in exchange for land it owns in Estate Whim and Grange Hill.
Texas-based Beal contends that it needs the Camp Arawak land for a portion of its $57 million world headquarters and rocket assembly plant. The company already owns more than 250 acres adjacent to the Camp Arawak property.
Gates said callers to his office are concerned about the legal decision’s impact on other projects proposed for St. Croix. He said the ruling is important in that it prevents new investment and the creation of new jobs on St. Croix.
But Hansen’s attorney Ned Jacobs, who lives next to the Camp Arawak property, said that if Beal decides not to locate on St. Croix it won’t be because of the lawsuit. Jacobs said Beal could "easily" build it’s proposed project on the land it already owns.
He also added that the V.I. Port Authority has indicated it is willing to lease Beal sufficient land on Port Authority property at Betty’s Hope in the island’s industrial zone. Jacobs said the Port Authority could even give the company title to the land.
Because of the options, Jacobs asked whether Andrew Beal actually has the best interest of St. Croix at heart or his own.
"It’s unfair here to say the plaintiffs are keeping out jobs," Jacobs said.
"Mr. Beal is just pushing too hard a bargain. He’s an individual who is used to pushing his own negotiating position as hard as he can. He could put his world headquarters a Great Pond and the factory at Betty’s Hope."
Gates, meanwhile, said the company is completing documents to support its legal appeals and they will be "filed as soon as possible."
As for that legal challenge, Jacobs said that "in the long run, the prohibition against the land exchange will be upheld."
