- After years of broken promises and failed investments, residents of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis say it is time that Christophe Harbor is acquired in the public interest.
By a Special Correspondent
BASSETERRE, St Kitts – The residents of St Kitts are in uproar over the stalled development of Christophe Harbor in the south-east of the island. Hundreds are signing a petition set up by Dwyer Astaphan, former MP, lawyer and social activist that calls for the concession to be cancelled and the land to be returned to the government.
Called ‘Rescue Christophe Harbor’, the petition says:
“Christophe Harbor, one-twelfth of the island of St Kitts, has been neglected by its development company led by Charles ‘Buddy’ Darby. Little or no action for 12 years. Monies being borrowed from local institutions to get by, debts incurred, a mess begging to be cleaned up by a worthy developer. Great promises made, great expectations by investors and citizens of St Kitts and Nevis, culminating in great loss and frustration to stakeholders and to the people of this beautiful twin-island nation who do not deserve this treatment which they received at the hands of Darby and his colleagues. Despite endless promises, this developer has failed to deliver.
“By signing this petition, you demand immediate corrective and preventive action to save Christophe Harbor from further neglect.”
The saga began more than 20 years ago when the elegant 47-metre yacht Andromeda La Dea sailed into harbour at the Caribbean Island of St Kitts.
Emerging from the cabin was the tall patrician figure of Charles P. Darby III, known to everyone as ‘Buddy’. Darby was then in his 50s and chief executive of Kiawah Island, a golf and country club with extensive property development that had recently hosted golf’s greatest team event, the Ryder Cup.
He told then prime minister, Denzil Douglas, that he was looking for investment opportunities. Were there any sights on the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis that might be suitable for development?
Darby was escorted to various sites and eventually settled on Christophe Harbor on the south of the island. Virtually uninhabited, it is a beautiful unspoilt stretch of land. Darby later told a reporter from Super Yacht Times why he was the right man to develop the land, boasting of his successful 30-year career at the head of the real estate developers, Kiawah Partners. The magazine gushed that he co-founded the company in the late 1980s, with notable projects include breathing life into Kiawah Island, a 10,000-acre sea island located 21 miles south of Charleston, as well as establishing an Irish golf course, The Lodge At Doonbeg, which was later acquired in a fire sale by Donald Trump.
“For the last 30 years I’ve been building golf courses, a resort, hotels… a lot of what I’m bringing to Christophe Harbour,” said Darby. “I take a lot of time as custodian of the land to build it out. It’s not like the phoenix rising quickly from the ashes. I take time and strive to be more environmentally sensitive. I use a lot of natural materials in the buildings that I build, materials that are indigenous to the area, and always maintain a profound respect for the environment.”
Nobody expected that he would take quite this much time, especially as at the outset, everything happened at breakneck speed. According to sources present at the time, prime minister Douglas’s cabinet were given details of the transaction and just the weekend to analyse the bid. Darby would buy the land of Christophe Harbor from the government, with a promise to bring luxury hotels, a Tom Fazio golf course, marina for large yachts, and construct houses and restaurants.
Darby boasted to Super Yacht Times that:
“It’s one of the few places in the world where I had a blank canvas: a total of 2,500 acres with tremendous beauty and physicality that I could bring my skill set and dedicate my team to and hopefully replicate the core of what we do. We’re utilising our extensive experience in development, but it’s not about taking what I’ve done previously and plopping it down in St Kitts. It’s about building something unique and suited to this special island.”
More than 15 years later, no work has begun on the golf course. Instead of a major marina with related facilities, there is a small dock and an office. There is a beach bar called Salt Plage, which has been boarded up for three years, the Pavilion Beach Club and a scattering of houses. But the jobs that were promised do not exist, nor do the property buyers who would have come to stay on the island bringing much-needed foreign exchange.
Residents say this situation is no longer tenable and must change.
The petition ends:
“It is crucial that we put pressure on the St Kitts and Nevis government, led by prime minister Dr Terrance M. Drew, to take immediate and decisive action. It must hold this developer accountable and ensure that the promises either kept or the property is returned to the people of St Kitts.”
– Sign the petition here.
