A skeleton of steel rising 50 feet into the air on the lower portion of the five-acre Sirenusa luxury condominium project sits undisturbed as work proceeds on the smaller buildings on the upper portion of the property overlooking Cruz Bay.
While a stop-work order remains in effect for the two large structures which had been started at the base of the hillside, construction has continued on buildings on the knoll-top section of the property above The Marketplace commercial center overlooking Enighed Pond.
The original 23-building, 48-unit project won approval for a group dwelling permit from V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) Com-missioner Dean Plaskett in 2004.
Group Dwelling Plan Redesigned
The project originally presented to DPNR by Wingmark Caribbean LLC was redesigned into 13 buildings, including the addition of a “club house” after it received Plaskett’s approval.
The developer cited problems with the steeply-sloped terrain of the site, in their request to combine a dozen of the two-story buildings on the steep hillside site into two large four-story buildings on the lower portion of the property, which is zoned R-2 and limited to two-story construction.
Although the developers claimed they had submitted the revised plans to DPNR for approval, DPNR officials informed the developer the changes had never been approved and Plaskett denied the developerÂ’s redesign when it was resubmitted earlier this year.
“We’re not budging on this,” DPNR spokesperson Jamal Nielsen said of the agency’s denial of the developers request to amend the approved group dwelling plan.
No New Redesign
The developers have not submitted a new design to DPNR.
“They have to submit a plan which conforms,” Nielsen said.
“They were crazy to go that far without our permission,” Nielsen added of the site work done to accommodate the second, unapproved, design.
Nielsen credited St. John Tradewinds with informing DPNR of the unapproved construction.
