The V.I. National Park and Caneel Bay Resort are still working together to come to a resolution over the April construction of a floor inside one of the resort’s historic ruins in an effort to expand space for diners at its Equator Restaurant.
The Park and the resort are working on producing an architectural rendering of what has already been constructed so they can move forward with compliance, according to VINP Acting Superintendent Martha Bogle.
“We would like to get architectural drawings to supply to the State Historic Preservation Office,” said Bogle.
VINP Archaeologist Ken Wild will develop a Section 106 statement, which is proper protocol when the issue of altering ruins arises.
“I have to develop a Section 106 statement, which describes the action you’re going to undertake on the historic structure,” Wild previously told St. John Tradewinds. “Then it goes out for approval by SHPO.”
The “floating” floor, which was not built into any of the ruins’ walls, is not harming the historic structure, and will remain in place during the compliance process, according to Bogle.
VINP regional historic architects and SHPO will have the final say regarding whether the floor should be taken out.
While compliance is being done after the fact, Caneel Bay Resort will not be issued a fine.
“This is not the way we’d typically do it,” Bogle previously told the Tradewinds. “Compliance is generally done beforehand, not after the fact. We would never want to be in the practice of doing compliance afterwards.”
Bogle hopes to see a resolution to the construction at the resort’s ruins before she leaves her post as VINP acting superintendent in late August, she explained.
