This may shed more light on Flamingo and Royal Palm reconstruction schedual. Posted by Yvonne Mendenhall with her permission. Mervin is on site manager for both resorts and Yvonne lives just up the street from Flamingo and also a Flamingo owner.
"We had a great lunch with our friend and fellow-Irma survivor, Mervin LeBlanc, yesterday! The news isn't really news, but information and confirmation.
The past and current reports are all good about reconstruction. The managers involved are getting excited about seeing the progress and how great this is turning out!
The schedule essentially stays the same as Diamond's last report with the caveat that IF things should finish earlier, they will not delay reopening until the projected date! But, at this time it looks very good for reconstruction to be completed per Diamond's projection.
The construction site is closed, so we sat at Juilette's and had lunch and watched the workers on the construction site balconies of Building 7 while Mervin told us what's happening. The interior work starts on the top floors and works down. Much of the bathroom and kitchen work is completed on the upper floors, nearly all the painting is done, and it's going very smoothly.
The exterior work is well underway. Scaffolding has been moved to the back (east) side of the north end of Bg 7, so they are making their way around the building. From what we can see, the work is all prep work now, getting the surfaces ready for the new finish. Mervin says it will be a very attractive, strong finish AND require less ongoing maintenance.
The former gift shop on the NW corner will be a small cafe with a few tables and will do beachside service and foods to go. It will be called the Pelican Beach Cafe.
Mervin meets with owners when he can. He says he can usually carve out 15 minutes to meet if he gets enough notice. Diamond sometimes has him traveling, but he said he likes to connect with owners to reassure them, this is real, it is coming and it will be great!
He also answers emails as soon as possible after they are received. Mervin.LeBlanc@diamondresorts.com He's a very good man and cares a lot about Sint Maarten and doing a good job for the island, the owners, and Diamond."