July 31, 2006 – Only sketchy information is available, but St. Thomas attorney David Bornn said that T-Rex St. John LLC plans to build a marina, condominium and commercial development on Moravian Church property in Coral Bay.
Bornn said that more information would be available next week.
He said the plans are still in the preliminary stage. "We just finished documentation with the church."
They haven't reached the point of applying for permits, he said. "But it's a community-oriented project and will benefit Coral Bay."
This marina coupled with one planned by Coral Bay Marina will put a new face on this rapidly growing community.
Coral Bay Marina will hear Aug. 10 – the date was moved from the initially announced Aug. 2 – whether it will get its Coastal Zone Management permit to build a marina where the waterfront Island Blues Restaurant and Bar is now located. The project extends to land on the other side of Route 107.
Coral Bay Marina plans to build a 116-slip marina, marine facilities and commercial space. (See "CZM Committee Considers Proposed Marina in Coral Harbor").
The Coral Bay Marina principals are St. John businessman Robert O'Connor Jr., Eglah Marsh Clendinen and Minerva Marsh Vasquez.
Bornn declined to disclose the names of the T-Rex principals, but said they were from both the territory and off-island.
Bornn's name was listed as the officer on the records at the Corporations and Trademarks Office at the Lieutenant Governor's Office. The file also listed Triangle Corporate Services as agent.
St. John Administrator Julien Harley, who is also chairman of the St. John CZM Committee, said he hadn't heard anything about the T-Rex project.
The Moravian Church finally came to an agreement after years of dispute with the V.I. Port Authority over ownership of 1.3 acres of a 10-acre parcel in Coral Bay, with a ruling in the Moravian Church's favor on June 4, 2004.
Rumors immediately began to circulate and prompted a protest at the Moravian Church because the church wasn't soliciting community input into the project. About three dozen people attended the protest. (See "Coral Bay Residents Protest Moravian Church Plans").
The church was tight-lipped then about its plans, but Percell said at the time that the church planned 150 hotel rooms, 200 condominiums, a 50-slip marina, a supermarket and office buildings for the land. He also said those numbers weren't engraved in stone.
Except for a ballfield and about three acres across from the ballfield, the land is mainly in a waterfront strip that runs behind Guy Benjamin School, the fire house, and Skinny Legs Bar and Restaurant. Emmaus Moravian Church sits across the street.
Skinny Legs owner Moe Chabuz said he hadn't heard one word about the T-Rex development. "I think the community should have some input," he said.
Chabuz said he is in favor of Coral Bay Marina because it is locally owned. He said O'Connor is "not here to make a buck and leave."
However, Chabuz expressed concerns about the lack of infrastructure in the Coral Bay area. He said the area has no potable water and no sewage system.
"We just recently got the police," he said, referring to the opening this spring of the Police Department's Coral Bay Substation.
While the land is located near Emmaus Moravian Church, the Moravian Church Provincial Elders Board controls the property.
The Rev. Errol Connor, board member and pastor at Nisky Moravian Church on St. Thomas, was off-island and could not be reached for comment Monday.
Percell said Monday that the church leased the property in January. He referred all other questions to Bornn.
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