Orient Bay project to start in June

Unfortunately it does not appear to be in the online version, but a story in today's Daily Herald states that the project to 'renovate' Orient Beach will begin as scheduled in June. The finished project supposedly will provide for eight restaurants, four boutiques and a 'tourist market', whatever that is, plus restrooms and parking for 80 cars. The proprietors will have to vacate their premises for several months but are scheduled to be able to move back in to the new restaurants in September.

I honestly don't know how far down the beach this project is supposed to go, but it seems that there will be fewer restaurants than before, if there will only be eight restaurants, once they are finished?

It is from Pedro's down to Kakao from what I read on FaceBook.

It will be surprising if construction actually begins as scheduled. Time will tell I guess. The 80 parking spots will definitely be a big improvement as parking is a mess there now.

Didn't they have a " tourist market" before but it mysteriously burn down?

SXM??? Wendell

I have mixed emotions about this as I'm sure most of us do. Hoping everyone's favorites survive.

It's a private construction company doing it, from what I know, and it's a high dollar project, so I figure it will start on time, at any rate.

Nice clean free toilets would be a big improvement. The parking has not really bothered me much. What would be nice would be if they keep the road behind the beach graded even somewhat smooth.

Even if the favorites do survive that means they would have been months without an income. That will put them behind before they even open back up. We are usually there the 1st 2 weeks in June and there is right much business even if that is considered low season. I feel their pain.

Excited to see what this brings. It is the people operating and working in the places we visit that make them special, not the brick-n-mortar, so, ultimately, as long as people stay there, it will be OK with us.

Correct.

I'm pretty sure the area affected by this project is not from Pedros to Kakao, but rather Pedros to Kon Tiki. They call it the "petites plages" (small beaches) area, comprising 8 restaurants, 4 boutiques and the tourist market. I'm pretty sure that describes the area ending at Kon Tiki on the north end. One of the articles mentions that all but one of the existing restaurants have already applied for a space in the new construction, which they say will comprise 4 buildings, each housing 2 restaurants and one boutique.

When this topic first arose, some on here said that they would rather keep the "funkiness" of the current places, and I agreed. It now seems like a done deal, and it is progress if the proprietors don't need to rebuild after a hurricane. I just hope our 3 favorites - Chez Leandra, Ethnic, and Orange Fever - stay.

I could be wrong, but I don't think the project includes Kontiki either. I count 9 restaurants in the affected area.

Pedro's
Andy and Cheryl's
Brothers
Chez Leandra
Ethnic
Orange Fever
Sun Beach Clubber
Aloha
Le String

Agreed. I can already feel the soul of the place being sucked out. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

Pedro's is on private land that he owns

It is leased.

SXM??? Wendell

he was given that land when he traded property with club o

So if bksm counts 9 including Pedro's and the DH story says 8 resto's, then if Pedro's is off the table?, bksm accounuts for the 8 that are going. Plus the little clothing stores.
Hope they all make it. This winter we made sure we took pics of that area incase the rumours were true, seems they were
J&B.

This stinks. We're going to be there in June. Though we do spend most of our time down on Club O -- I will certainly miss our lunches at Aloha. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

Orient is going to lose it's vibe...and look more like a strip mall on a beach!!! It's too bad that all the beach bars will look the same. The funkiness of Orient was the different shacks and vibes. Progress??? don't think so.

.

Agree

We need to wait and see the results of this project. Perhaps it won't be as bad as imagined, and it definitely will be stronger when hurricanes hit. I'm sure the food will be just as good and the people will be just as friendly!I enjoy the funkiness of the beach shacks too, but I don't have to pay to repair them after all the storms.

Hopefully you're right.

Unfortunately I suspect you'll be paying for the much higher rents instead. Also do we have any idea how many of the restaurants will be back? A couple of months of down-time would kill most small beach-side businesses. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sad.gif" alt="" />

Ahh - that's sad to hear. We are bringing friends to the island the first week of July and were so looking forward to spending the day at Aloha.

So I guess only those few places on the south end near club O are going to be affected? I guess there are still many more that will be open though.

What is everyone's recommendation of a couple of places to spend the day with great food? We've only been to Aloha, Chez Leandra and Palm Beach and all were great. Need a new place to try this year.

So, if it's the places closest to Club O that will be changing, won't that be a problem, since it sounds like the new project, when completed, will be drawing ALOT of tourists. Won't that interfere with the "ambiance" over at Club O? (i.e. the privacy factor, etc)

That area is full of tourists now, people that get left off a Pedro's and are not adventurous enough to walk 100 yards to a 10 X better beach. I have many friends that will miss the shacks...I missed the old airport too, once. As for privacy factor at Club O, that has not existed since the cruise ship onslaught started. To me the big thing will be if they can provide enough light and security to make the location viable at night. That would extend the Village from Alamanda to Pedro's including Kakao and Kon Tiki which could be a victory for a lot of people including the property owners behind the beach. If you think this is bad remember Cupacoy and Dawn beach...but that' the Dutch side and a whole different thing...

Here's a link to a rendering of what they expect the area to look like after the work. http://lepelican-journal.com/saint-marti...-2015-6555.html
A couple of interesting notes from the article:
* one of the objectives is to make the area suitable for business day and evening
* the local government has budgeted 2 million euros for the work
* all the current occupants are said to be offered an equivalent spot in the new structure if they choose to take it. (So by my reading, the government isn't trying to kick out current occupants)
* They plan to pave the back parking lot and have 80 parking places. which in feb was a cratered minefield for the shocks of our rental hyundai I10 <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />)
It'll be interesting to see how things really play out.

Yes, that rendering looks terrible. The current occupants are not going to pay the new lease amount, which will change all the wonderful differances each establishment has to offer now.
Concreat and permenant structures on a Carribean Island beach is not what people come to th e islands for.

Looks like only eight of the twelve restaurants will be accommodated in this new project. This could be a good thing as a lot of those places had severe damage and this will have a fresh impact. We usually spend our time in the bikini Beach area but walk the whole beach. I'll wait to see how it turns out before I make a final judgement.

The euro will tank and it will sit unfinished for years. It was probably underwritten when it was stronger.

The value of the Euro has nothing to do with this. They will pay in Euros and the exchange rate is not a consideration any more than a construction project in the states does when the dollar is weak or strong.

From my understanding the funds have already been allocated and since it is scheduled to be completed by September this year, I think that it will definitely be done this year, although September may be a bit too ambitious. We'll see what the outcome is.

We have been to Orient a number of times. The sense I get from comments on this forum over the years is that what people really miss is well before much development at all occurred. Since Orient has been developed, there is a level of need for keeping up the development. We love the stretch of restaurants whose facilities will be changed. They all have their unique experience and food. However, this past early winter, we had come to the conclusion it was time to improve these facilities. The parking lot was full of holes, most of the time filled with funky water. The seaweed and accompanying smell didn't help and probably magnified the run down, storm damaged facilities these restaurants have occupied.

I suggest, "give this a chance". There are so many day trip cruisers coming to Orient already. With the number of other places on the island that many cruisers go to, my bet is that this small stretch of "improvement" is not going to significantly increase that. For those worried about cruisers walking the beach "south" maybe this will distract them and steer them north instead.

Something positive and something negative will come of this development, it just depends on who you ask. I believe that with all the great things on Orient, this one development will not take away any of those other things as they are today. Long ago, maybe but that is history.

Last, I agree with the concern or hope that whatever the lease is, the current restaurants can all survive, and if not here, then in another location. Orient will continue to be the best.

I hope the amount of setback from the waterline, significantly greater than Pedros, shown in the rendering ends up being accurate.

I could be wrong, but I don't THINK that Pedro's will be affected. As far as I know, Pedro's is on Club Orient property, aren't they?

If you look at the illustration Pedro's is the building on the far right, so it will be untouched.

I wish that page was available in English.

Google translate gives the gist. Definitely looks like Pedro's is not involved:

https://translate.google.com/translate?h...-2015-6555.html

In the future just highlight the page, right click and hit translate. Works slick.
There is also a translate icon that will pop up when a foreign language needs to be translated. Just click on that.

With a translation as bad as that one, Mr. Google must not be a native English speaker.

Sort of the gist, anyway! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> Thanks.

Gist-ist. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I spent a lot of time in a previous job using Google Translate, so I guess I got good at translating the translation into something interpretable.

Never used it much at all myself, but I can see where experience in using it would certainly be helpful. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Wow, the idea that Pedro's would be owned by Club O is almost too much for me to imagine...talk about night and day but then again the "rocks" are the border...long time lease? Hard to imagine that they would not have monetized this area if they could. Buffer???

Well, they got the best of both worlds to capitalize on both life styles. Smart call.

Pedro's is NOT owned by Club O. The LAND where Pedro's is located is owned by Club O, I believe.

The soul was sucked out of Orient Beach 15-20 years ago. This is just going to make it any beach destination on any island sadly

Here's a rendering of the actual structures , also from le Pelican.

gary

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Translated.
http://lepelican-journal.com/saint-marti...forme-7375.html
Sorry, didn't work.

If using Chrome, just right-click on the text (not image) and select translate from the menu.

gary

Unfortunately it looks like our trip this year will be impacted, but that isn't a huge issue. I think those pictures make it look very nice. Hope the reality is as good as imagined.

No character. Just plain ugly and boring. Disliking this more and more

So - I'm trying to be positive and think of all the places that will not be affected that we can visit in July.

Here is a list I have come up with - please chime in if any are incorrect or to add any more that I have missed!

Kakao
Palm Beach
Kontiki
Bikini Beach
La Playa
Pedro's
Waikiki
Coco Beach

Oh - and need opinions on your favorites. Of this list I've only been to Palm Beach. My 2 favorites were Aloha and Chez Leandra which are in the remodel zone

How about the Perch and Papagayo? You don't have to be nude to eat there, or you could get carry out. And I ask because I don't know--aren't there some places in Orient Village open for lunch? And what about bringing something to the beach with you to eat? Of course, some places don't allow you to bring your own food and drink with you and sit in their chairs. Which brings up a question--I wonder what will happen on the actual beach? I wonder whether people will be able to bring their own chairs and sit them there, or whether the area will be roped off?

We will be in the same boat you are....visiting in July. As such, we've decided to spend 3 of our days on Anguilla.

But the remaining time on SXM we will still be perfectly happy on Orient, as we love Kakao. Used to frequent Kontiki, but haven't been there since they changed and remodeled. I think I'd fall off those new swinging bar stools... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Waikiki while expensive has very good food and comfy lounge chairs with good beach service. LaPlaya also has good food although beach service and rest area at Waikiki much better.
Palm Beach also has very good beach service and amenities but have been disappointed with the food on the last few visits which again has been over 2 years.

It does seem like this 'renovation' is definitely going to cut down on the availability of lower priced food on Orient at least temporarily, as the places which will remain open are more expensive in general than the closed ones.

Seems absolutely impossible that that project can be done in three months. We're talking French AND island time! They should allow food trucks in during the construction.

Perhaps after the new construction all the places will be putting their prices up to compensate for the higher rents they will be paying. Time will tell, I guess and by September we might have a better indication of the real completion date.

That's assuming that the rents in fact will be higher. Although that seems a fair assumption, does anyone know that for a fact?

What is interesting is that the 2 leassee of the land leased out plots to people/businesses that built buildings on these plots. Did the land leasee's buy back the building owners interest's an start this project? Was this a combined project from the building owners ?

Also with the new free bathrooms I would expect higher prices on what is sold at these new places.

SXM??? Wendell

Wendell--I could be wrong, but I thought the property in question is owned by the Collective'?

Wendell, I cannot imagine that the developer would be doing this without a plan for significantly higher rents. All of the new places will be significantly more expensive.

BobandJeana

We'll be there in September, and I would be highly surprised if this project was completed by then.

It will be interesting to see what comes from all of this. I suspect my little piece of paradise on on earth, is going to be drastically changed -- and IMHO probably not for the better.

I am curious when the affected businesses will shut down or if there is any possibility of them being open when we are there the last week of May and the first week of June? Anyone have any info?

According to the company which is in charge of the project, it will start in June, so it looks like your last week in May should be fine for sure, unless some of them would close down early, which actually wouldn't make sense, I wouldn't think.

I was told many years ago that the OB area was leased. Half from a man and the other half by 2 women. This was from a person who built one of the buildings there. The dividing line was at Kontiki. Do you remember the sliding gate behind Kontiki that was closed every night? The was supposed to be the dividing line of the lessors. Then they subleased.

SXM??? Wendell

It is difficult to tell from the bad translation, but I think that newspaper article states that the property is owned by the Collective. Kontiki, etc., is irrelevant, as it's not part of this project.

The article does indeed say that the parcel of land involved in the rehab belongs to "La Collectivite."

Since we will be there right when this project is slated to start, I will be sure to post pics and updates upon our return.

We'll be in St. Maarten on October 10 and I hope they're done with the project by then. Fingers crossed, since we love going to Orient Beach. I doubt they'll be finished by then, though.

This subject was covered here last year.

Link.

It includes an informative link to the Today newspaper.

Pretty accurate information.

gary

We really love Orient the way it is. Time will tell ...

I think this will be a big improvement it will make it safer to walk to the village from club o at night.

I agree it would be a good thing if the end result was that several of the restaurants there are open in the evenings, and that is supposedly part of the intent.