Izzy
Senior Insider
From Le Journal as translated by M. Google
THE ROCKEFELLER PROPERTY IN COLOMBIER TREATED SEPARATELY IN THE URBAN PLANNING MAP by V.A 02/12/2020
It is a remarkable place and steeped in history for the island. David Rockefeller's villa, which sits above Colombier Bay in the heart of a vast natural area, is the subject of a separate treatment in the town planning map, which will be examined by the territorial council on Friday.
We told you about it in our October 21 (1394) edition: the Rockefeller property, which occupies a specific place in Saint-Barthélemy, benefits from a separate treatment in the town planning map. The new version of this document, which will be submitted to elected officials on Friday, takes stock of the situation: the villa is a historical and architectural element to be preserved. But left abandoned, it deteriorates over time and with cyclones.
Avoid total ruin
"The Collectivity attaches extreme importance to the maintenance and restoration of the old Rockefeller villa and intends to do everything possible to avoid its total ruin", writes the latter in the presentation report of the town planning map. “The owner having requested (…) that the rules applicable to this area be revised to allow a limited increase in the possibilities of building, without which, according to her, it was difficult to envisage, from an economic point of view, the restoration of the main buildings, the Collectivity asked the ATE for a more precise analysis of the site on the part where the Rockefeller villa was built. "
However, around the building and what remains of the tipi, the specialists of the ATE have found some local species of good size, such as gum trees, Creole moorings or guaiacs, but the whole looks "more like a wasteland than what we see in the natural environment ”. Only a few noteworthy specimens, notably a tête-à-anglais cactus, cannot be moved. As for the fauna, nothing to report: between the kids and the poultry colonies that rake the soil, no native animal of Saint-Barth is specifically sheltered on this site. Only long-tailed seabirds are visible, they nest on a cliff below.
All this opens the way to a possibility of limited development of the property. The access roads may be concrete. The development must be carried out in a space of 1.4 hectares between the existing villa and the old tipi, in an area that is hardly visible from the sea. The new construction cannot exceed 200 m2 of footprint, and cannot be higher than the roof of the villa. On his property, Rockefeller had arranged a sort of plain in order to land a helicopter. In this plain, invasive species have proliferated, they will have to be eradicated, and no construction can be established there. A swimming pool could be added to the project.
The North peninsula (opposite the villa on the other side of Colombier beach) remains in the NLb zone, which is the highest level of protection.
The restoration of the villa built by architect Nelson Aldrich will be particularly scrutinized. The exterior, the courtyard and the terrace must remain the same. Only one possibility of creating openings on a north wall of the building is left. The interior can be rearranged. It is noted that the new construction will have to respect the spirit and the very singular style of the existing buildings. A great challenge for an architect!
