Town organizers on Saturday reaffirmed their vision for redevelopment and revitalization of downtown Charlotte Amalie, pledging to create an "after-five" economy that would expand business hours and provide more entertainment options for residents and visitors alike.
At a town meeting Saturday morning that drew an an audience of business owners, residents and members of the 30th Legislature, David Bornn, president of Downtown Revitalization Inc. listed what he called the key factors needed to complete the renaissance of Charlotte Amalie before its centennial celebration in 2017. They are parking and traffic control, harbor transportation, mixed-use development, beautification, historic preservation and public safety.
“We are now at the stage where we need stakeholder buy-in, and with a new website we can now better expand communication” said DRI board member Etienne Bertrand. “Problems have to be stated correctly in order to come up with the best solution, public forums like today serve that purpose.”
Stakeholders who gathered in the Lockhart Elementary auditorium were shown two architectural renderings for additional public parking. One is a publicly funded garage abutting the Fort Christian parking lot and extending along Norre Gade to include the Credit Union and closed Callwood Command center. The other is a four-level privately owned and operated structure west of the current enterprise zone and located at Curacao Gade atop the existing Asfour clothing store building. It would cost roughly estimated $21 million. Expanding the zones parameters would allow for possible tax incentives to defer the total outlay.
Both concepts are in the conceptual stage, as both private and public funding has yet to be secured, though Public Works had previously reported to the 29th Legislature in 2011 that a "sufficient portion" of the fees it collects from the Fort Christian Parking Lot would be put toward a multilevel structure. Both must incorporate landscaping and adhere to historic preservation guidelines.
Also included in the parking segment of the forum was the idea of utilizing existing vacant lots for parking as well as instituting a public parking permit program.
“I believe a more understandable model is needed,” said St. Thomas resident Roy Benjamin. “My concerns include the final cost that will make this a reality and the preservation of our V.I. historic culture.
Senate President Shawn-Michael Malone and Sen. Myron Jackson both said historic preservation must be balanced by practical economic measures that both lawmakers said would be addressed in bills expanding the existing enterprise zone to assist with parking construction.
While harbor transportation has been an ongoing topic of public conversation, Wystan Benjamin, highway program manager of Public Works, would only confirm that the department has spoken with a private consultant and that four water-taxi stations were being discussed. They include the Yacht Haven Grande and West Indian dock area, a waterfront location near vendors plaza, Crown Bay terminal and Water Island.
Various size vessels under consideration range from 50-passenger vessels to possibly even larger as the needs are addressed.
No questions were raised following the presentation.
Chris George from the Lieutenant Governor’s office rounded out the morning’s slate of presenters by updating the street numbering overlay project. The program to create a standardized addressing system for the territory’s roads would enhance 911 emergency response time for residents and allow easier direction to popular tourist locations and local services for visitors, he said.
The project is in its pilot stage, having assigned 550 new numbers for residents of Mon Bijou and Frangipani on St. Croix, the first in the territory to get new addresses. The east End of St. Thomas will complete the pilot project that will be presented to the government for review. Additional local and federal funding would then be needed to complete the plan territory-wide.
Plans call for field crews to visit each residence in the territory, leaving door hangers that residents will use to verify that the project team correctly understands their existing address information as reported in property tax databases. The hangers will also contain the new address that has been assigned to the home, which will include a number and street name.
Future town forum programs include a May 16 "Forum on Social Causes for Public Safety Issues" and a "Main Street Project Update" on June 13.
