Grand Fond Road Construction

tim

Moderator
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of a brief outing with the King during which he took the below photo. The project at Grand Fond is well under way. It involves widening the road, sidewalks, parking, stone walls, and speed bumps that will truly get one's attention.

IMG_1783.jpg
 
It's good to be King. Looks like barrier wall is of traditional Saint-Barth construction method and not the much maligned poured-in-place and thin veneer method. That should ( but probably won't) make many happy.
 
No doubt in our mind that there is future development in store- the speed bumps are anticipating it. Agree the walls could have been worse but they are not the originals- Is that labeled progress?
 
Hi - new here! Lots of lurking as we plan our May trip. Having seen this, I am fearful the villa we have rented will be looking upon backhoes?
 
Hi - new here! Lots of lurking as we plan our May trip. Having seen this, I am fearful the villa we have rented will be looking upon backhoes?
Actually... I've just googled a satellite image and I believe this is "north" or "east" (??) of where we are staying :)
 
I've never rented that particular villa, but there are people on this site who have. My impression is that it is on the other end of the coast road thru Grand Fond from the Nureyev villa, which is in the background of Tim's photo. If you're looking at Google Maps, that Hotel St Barth shown in Grand Fond is a phantom - it doesn't exist. There's nothing there but an open hillside. Further to the right, Hotel Le Toiny is the only hotel in that area. I think that Roche dans l'Eau is to the left of the phantom Hotel St Barth location in Google maps, and that the construction being talked about is to the right. A quick phone call to your villa rental agency should settle the matter.
 
Yes, I believe you are correct re: location to the left of the phantom hotel (when I clicked on the thumbtack, I realized the hotel did not exist). Checking with our agent
to confirm, though very understanding that construction will be a common site post Irma.

Thank you for the info, btw.
 
The (new) road has to be redone after Irma.
The journal of St Barth briefly covered it (and the costs)

Check the steelrods behind the stonewall.These walls are for aesthetic reasons nowadays.

There was a large white house over the Noureev house (where they are leveling) .It had been on sale for a long time.

It can be seen on this low quality photo (sorry).
PG003061~259.jpg

Interestingly,the building area seems much larger than the former white house.A probable consequence of the new building code.I am sure some locals will be able to explain.It is worth an explanation.Trust me.

As far as i remember when i visited the white house when for sale,the plot was around 6.000 sqm2.And a part of it was "green zone" (which explains what is happening)
 
" If you're looking at Google Maps, that Hotel St Barth shown in Grand Fond is a phantom - it doesn't exist. "
that is hysterical. I wonder how that happened. Could you imagine someone spending hours online looking for a phone number or website for that hotel right on the water!!!
 
Thank you Tim. The loss of natural, undisturbed beauty like this (was) makes me sad. But the inequalities on St. Barths do seem great. Perhaps Irma revealed this some. The unavoidable harm of mining one's own property must be a vexing conundrum for many natives.
 
The terrible destruction of the cote sauvage .....photo was shot the 11th of august 2017
You can recognize the Noureev house.
It seems the low quality photo posted earlier didn't do the trick

toiny.jpg
 
Kevin is correct. Bethy2120 - you will not see the back holes from La Roche Dans L'Eau. Besides the fact that the villa is located on the other side of the coast road, past Nureyev house, there is a large "front yard" between the villa and the road itself.
 
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of a brief outing with the King during which he took the below photo. The project at Grand Fond is well under way. It involves widening the road, sidewalks, parking, stone walls, and speed bumps that will truly get one's attention.

Elvis? Jesus? :cool:

:biglaugh:
 
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