US Virgin Islands

The Villages at Orangestaad will be the first fully planned development on St. Croix.  Under construction currently is the Clusters, 222 solid concrete residential units, with choices of villas, townhomes, and condos with ocean views.

The Clusters is the first of four residential communities which will center around the future Ann Heegaard's Town Center, planned to include:

• Restaurants
• Mini markets
• Banks
• Shops
• Office
• Recreational Parks
• Beautiful plazas
• Underground parking spaces
• Apartments and lofts focused on the elderly, newlyweds, young couples and executives.

64 homes are now available, priced from $157,500 for a 2 bedroom/1 bath unit of approximately 788 SF, $199,500 for a 2/1.5 of 1,018 SF, $168,000 for a 3/1 of 968 SF, and $230,000 for a 3/2 of 1,192 SF.

Ground breaking is scheduled for October, 2009, with build-out in about 12 months.  This is new construction, so please contact me to sign up and reserve your spot.  Take a look at the short slideshow below for floor plans and aerial views of the project. 

Villages at Orangestaad is a very exciting concept for St Croix real estate.  Call or email me for more details about buying a home in the Clusters on St Croix.

Locals and visitors alike are buzzing about the chance for a new National Park for St. Croix! The up to 2900 acre site located on St. Croix's south shore, is home to a pristine coastal barrier coral reef system, a historic great house dating back to the 1730's, as well as evidence of pre-Colombian settlement. The proposed property, Castle Nugent Farms, is home to a special breed of cattle, known as Senepol which are unique to St. Croix. The effort is being spearheaded by long time local family the Gasparis, who own Castle Nugent Farms and are strong supporters of the protection of St. Croix's natural and cultural resources.

Currently, the National Park Sservice is seeking local and visitor input on several park options. To offer support for this important opportunity for St. Croix, please write, call or email:

John Barrett
National Park Service
100 Alabama Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-562-3124 ext. 637
john_barrett@nps.gov

For more information please visit these sites:

St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA): http://www.stxenvironmental.org/castle_nugent.html

National Park Service: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?parkId=423&projectId=19240

Best Wishes, Lorine

Lorine R. Williams

Coldwell Banker Land de-Wilde

340.690.9628

www.buyintheusvi.com

lorine@buyintheusvi.com

Fantastic St Croix Travel Deals!

• $150 Airline Credit
• 4^th Night Free

Planning on visiting St. Croix this fall? Two valuable deals mean that now is a great time to book travel. Book your trip before October 5th and qualify for $150 airfare credit when you travel on either American or Delta Airlines. The airfare credits are good for both you and a travel companion ($150 each.) In addition, visitors who book three nights at participating hotels can stay an extra night for free. The hotels represent a great variety of styles and sizes, including the Buccaneer, Carambola, Diva Carina Bay Resort, Hibiscus Beach Resort and Sand Castle on the Beach.

Book through AA vacations, Delta Vacations, CheapCaribbean.com, Expredia, or Travelocity for travel now through November 15^th. For complete details as well as a complete list of participating hotels, consult the USVI tourism website at http://www.usvitourism.vi/package_and_promotions.

Hope we'll see you soon! Lorine

Lorine R. Williams

Coldwell Banker Land de-Wilde

340.690.9628

www.buyintheusvi.com

I've been corresponding with a woman who will be retiring soon and wants to move to St. Croix. She has a price range for a condo chosen within her means, and wants to walk to shopping, the beach, events, as much as possible. She'd also like a new complex.

If you would like to move permanently to St Croix, or consider an investment you could rent out for a few years, here is the answer I gave to her questions.

"You are embarking on a journey that I took 5 years ago - the quest for the perfect retirement spot! I traveled extensively looking at LOTS of islands - and believe me - St Croix is about as good as it gets. It is a wonderful place to live and work - all the benefits of being part of the USA - but with an island culture. Doesn't get any better than that. St Thomas is crowded, overpopulated, and dirty. I would not want to live there. St John is prohibitively expensive and not a real "livable" island - although it is the most beautiful of the 3 US Virgins. St Croix does have its share of crime - but we have a great governor who is working diligently to get things under control. Most of the crime here is petty - like in most tourist destinations - but it's a big nuisance and needs to be stopped.

"Currently there are NO new condo complexes on the island, but thankfully some are planned. There's going to be a new development near Christiansted that will include a variety of housing options, a "town center" and of course beautiful sea views. It's called Orangestad and I will send you some listings showing the plans.

"Right now - condos range from $65,000 to about a million. Big range, I know, and what influences the price is LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. The safest complexes with the most security are also the most expensive. I don't know of any condo complexes that are in walking distance to grocery stores, shopping, etc. Orangestad will be the closest to that concept.

"Condo fees range from $250 - $1200 a month. The fees include insurance, sometimes cable, sometimes pest control, and of course landscaping and pool maintenance."

I could say so much more, about our Buyer's Market, about the low low prices sellers are asking, about how St Croix is poised - because of Gov. deJongh and his efforts - to recover boldly and early from the worldwide economic downturn, about his plans to make our island self-sustaining and protect our resources. But call or email me yourself and I'll tell you all that, and how great it is livin' the dream in our Caribbean paradise.

Be sure to visit my web site if you are planning for retirement, and you will find the answers to a lot of your questions. That's all for now, I'm off to the beach,

You folks on the mainland think IDX is "old hat" but it's a new toy we just were able to install through our MLS.

To those of you who search for listings, and don't we all - even if just to keep up with the market or dream of someplace warmer when it's snowing - you know an IDX solution is 1000% better than plain vanilla MLS. It gives you options, and ways to see results, and map searches, and personal searches - that we never had the ability to offer you before from St. Croix.

Here's the link to MY LISTINGS, and visit my Coldwell Banker site to search the full MLS, or my Retire in the VI search page.

And, of course, contact me when you find something that interests you. I'm livin' the dream here in St Croix - come join us!