Progress is being made.....some changes to a few items on property. However on track and doing a nice job (IMO) navigating and protecting our interests.
September 2018
Dear Fellow Coral Vista Owner:
Your Board of Managers held its quarterly meeting in mid-September along with our annual budget workshop. We wanted to report to you on the meeting and update you on the progress of repairs and restoration of the Westin St. John resort, and especially on the Coral Vista units.
Much progress has been made on the entire resort, and the property is on schedule to reopen on January 4, 2019. We had a report from our General Manager, Sam Hugli, and from the team that is managing the construction work.
All of the buildings in Coral Vista and most of the other parts of the property are on schedule. Four of the Virgin Grand buildings need additional work and will be ready a few months after the opening. The old lobby is being torn down and the space is being converted into an open-air lounge area. There will be a lobby at the marina and an additional space in the area that had previously housed Bougainvilla, near the Westin Workout. The Spa and workout space are being restored as was previously. The Westin Family Kids’ Club is being rebuilt slightly smaller. There will be four tennis courts and one multi-purpose court for basketball and other activities.
The Marketplace is going to be moving back to its former location near the administrative offices and the Spa. Snorkels will be reopening on the beachfront and serving 3 meals and cocktails in January when the resort opens. Lemongrass will not be opening on January 4, but will be in operation later in the year. Many restaurants in town are up and running and their numbers and offerings are steadily increasing. The concierge desk can help you connect with local places.
Covered balconies have been added to the studio units in Coral Vista, which is a most welcome sight. Environmental consultants have been inspecting the units on a regular basis to make sure that our reconstructed units are environmentally safe for occupancy.
There is a new air-conditioned ferry that will run more often and service the resort from Red Hook. Luggage storage on the ferry will be covered. Air-conditioned minivans will help to transport you and your luggage from the airport to Red Hook. We heard about recovery efforts on both St. Thomas and St. John and, while things are not back to the way they were, much progress has been made.
Many owners have made their reservations for 2019. If you still have StarOptions available to use for 2018, please make sure you contact Owner Services at
888-986-9637 or
407-903-4635 before they expire. They will be happy to assist you.
You will hear from us in late November about the final budget and maintenance fees for 2019. Our team operated on a greatly reduced budget for 2018. We managed our reserve funds and had the money on hand to pay our share of the insurance deductible without having any additional assessment. Our goal is to rebuild our reserves so that when the next storm comes, we have the money to be able to continue to maintain and rebuild as we did in 2018. We know that insurance premiums for 2019 are greatly increasing over the levels from 2017. We also know that much of our mechanical systems and unit interiors will be brand new; therefore, we will be able to reset the life expectancy and replacement costs in our 2019 budget.
You were also able to use your 2018 StarOptions at other resorts at a reduced level of cost from 2017 – our maintenance fees were less this year. Our goal is to keep the maintenance fees at or below the 2017 level and to rebuild our reserve funds, especially our insurance deductible fund, as quickly as we can. You will receive more information on this in the next few months.
We cannot thank the Westin St. John team members who have worked on recovery and restoration for the past year enough for their efforts. We also want to thank the management group in Orlando for their leadership and tireless effort to help keep things moving. We have a very dedicated and hard working group of people who deserve all of our thanks for their efforts to bring Coral Vista back to us.
We will continue to update you as we get more information. We know that we are looking forward to 2019 and we are sure you are equally excited about returning to St. John. Please contact any of us if you have questions or suggestions.
Your owner-elected representatives,
David Futransky
david.coralvista@gmail.com
Nancy Gerding
nancy.coralvista@gmail.com
James Miller II
james.coralvista@gmail.com
