March 16, 2007 – The island is invited to come and play Sunday at the very grand opening of the Yacht Haven Grande, when the eyesore that became a dream will officially open its gates to the community, preceded by a fireworks display over Charlotte Amalie harbor Saturday night.
"Everyone is invited to come to play, eat, shop, listen to music," said Derrick Franklin, Yacht Haven's director of marketing and special events. The event will go on all afternoon from noon until 5 p.m. Franklin said the relaxed day will include balloon artists, face painters for the children and mocko jumbies on the promenade.
Performing at Alfina's Well from noon to 2 p.m., in what's called the luxury corner near the upscale shops, will be the Vibes of Cool Session Band and Louis Taylor. A steel pan band from one of the public schools will play throughout the day.
The celebration gets a head start Saturday night, at the close of a private opening gala, with the fireworks, which will start at 10:30 p.m.
Some boats normally anchored in the area will be required to move for the show, which should last about 10 minutes. No boats will be allowed within a 600-foot radius of the firing zone, according to fireworks producer Steve Bornn.
The Wikked, Fat Turtle and Grande Cru restaurants will offer tastings of their special menus. Wikked, which opened in January, serves breakfast through dinner with salads, appetizers, burgers, and calamari nachos, which are already popular. The Fat Turtle, which opened in February, caters mostly to a younger crowd, with lots of barbeque items and appetizers; while Grand Cru, a martini bar and bistro set to open later this month, is geared to a more sophisticated crowd.
The elegant property is all as Yacht haven developers Elie Finegold and Andrew Farkas envisioned it three years ago, when they had a grand groundbreaking bringing a wide cross section of the community together.
At the March 2004 ceremony, Farkas talked about the cruise industry and his plans for the "single, largest megayacht basin in the world … a marquee for the Virgin Islands." He said the old marina 11 years ago brought in $100 million in economic activity to the territory. "The new one will bring $300 million," he said, adding that "There are 500 boats of more than 80 feet being built each year. That exceeds the total number of boats that size in 1992."
He said the planned 160-slip marina would be capable of berthing boats well over 400 feet. One of those yachts, the 452.75 foot Rising Sun, reportedly the second largest in the world, has been a frequent visitor since the marina opened in November. The marina remains busy, sporting many of the dazzling, white megayachts.
The opening celebrates the completion of the $150 million Phase I of the project, which includes 80,000 square feet of retail space, 30,000 square feet of office space, three waterfront restaurants, 12 condominium units, and a yacht club.
Shoppers on Sunday can visit shops, including White House/Black Market, Chico, Coach, Roberto Coin, Little Switzerland, BCBG Max Azria, Ben and Jerry's, Solstice and Ultra Diamonds. Many more are scheduled to open soon.
For a complete history of the project, enter "Yacht Haven" in the search engine. The Source has reported extensively on the project since its inception.
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