St. Kitts Breaks Ground for Marina at Christophe Harbour

A groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 19, for the construction of Christophe Harbour’s mega-yacht marina marked is the latest step forward in the overall development of the luxury tourist resort and residential project on St. Kitts’ Southeast Peninsula. In accordance with custom, the ceremonial “first dig” was initiated by St. Kitts & Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.

Among those joining Douglas in commemorating the event were Sen. Ricky Skerritt, minister of state in the Ministry of Tourism, Sports & Culture; LeGrand Elebash, COO for Christophe Harbour; Ellis Hazel, director of planning and community relations for Christophe Harbour; and Reginald Francis, owner of St. Kitts Marine Works.'

St. Kitts Marine Works, a local St. Kitts company, has been contracted to implement phase one of the marina development project, which includes excavation of the mega-yacht basin in the 32-acre Little Salt Pond and the creation of 42 new harbor front villa lots in the Greater Salt Pond.

The lots will be created from the excavation, the first nine of which are scheduled to be available for sale this April. The channel from the harbor to Ballast Bay in the nearby sea will be opened upon the completion of this phase of the marina construction, which will bring the harbor to the 20-foot depth needed to accommodate mega-yachts.

The $6 million marina project is estimated to take 14 months from start to finish. Upon its completion, the marina will be the centerpiece of the Christophe Harbour development, offering mega-yacht berths, provisioning and services, and a commercial marina village with restaurants and shops.

Twelve mega-yacht slips have been released for pre-sale and reservations have been taken on seven slips to date, ranging from 100 to 200 feet in length. Real estate investment opportunities are also currently available, with private residence sites and some one-bedroom beach or hillside bungalows.

Christophe Harbour has also recently begun to offer their four exclusive beachfront bungalows at Turtle Beach for vacation rental. Meanwhile, work continues on other components of the Christophe Harbour development, including the Tom Fazio-designed 18-hole championship golf course. Christophe Harbour is already operating the Beach House restaurant at Turtle Beach, an earlier phase of the development which opened in 2008.