Sept. 24, 2002 – St. Croix Renaissance Group, which recently acquired the former Alcoa Aluminum site, will open the property's running track and the interior roadway to joggers and walkers beginning on Wednesday, according to Myron Allick, partner and site manager.
Allick, who grew up on St. Croix, said residents used the 1.25-mile road and the quarter-mile track within the plant recreation area years ago. The most recent owner of the property, St. Croix Alumina, closed the recreational facilities after shutting down the alumina plant several years ago.
"When I was in high school, it was used for inter-island track meets," Allick recalled.
The track and road within what is now known as Renaissance Park will be open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset, according to a release.
One St. Croix resident who is pleased that the facilities are being reopened is retired educator Ruth Beagles. "It has always been a great place to exercise," she said, nothing that she had used the track for 30 years before it was closed.
People wanting to utilize the facilities must park their vehicles along the entrance road before the security gate.
Allick said Renaissance Group employees and seven workers hired from the Estate Profit community have gotten the walking and jogging areas into shape and also have been clearing the site around the ruins of Abraham Markoe's home, which now can be seen from the perimeter trail as well as from Melvin Evans Highway.
The home was built in the 1700s. Renaissance Group research found that Markoe was considered an extravagant man, and that he incurred his father's displeasure for building such a fine house to replace one that a hurricane "whirled over the lagoon and into the sea." Markoe was distinguished for having organized a light-horse troop in Philadelphia during the American Revolution. He presented the troop with a flag reputed to have been the first with 13 stripes symbolizing the American colonies, according to the release.
"The ruins were overgrown and it was hard work, but the results were excellent," Allick said of the work done recently. Edwin Ortiz, who organized the Estate Profit team, said the group was grateful for the work opportunity, because employers are often reluctant to hire people who live in the low-income area.
Renaissance Park also contains the ruins of a sugar mill, slave quarters and Estate Anguilla. Allick said plans call for opening up the more of the area for recreational use. The barbecue pavilion will be made available for community functions and the soccer fields will be reopened, he said.
The American Youth Soccer Organization and the V.I. Soccer Federation used the fields for practice and meets, and the V.I. Special Olympics called the site home for 25 years, he noted. "I hope that before the end of the year, we'll be able to open the rest of the area for the public to enjoy," he said.
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