Pond Bay Club Construction Progress on Schedule

An artist’s rendering of the beach entrance.

Imagine enjoying a luxurious spa treatment in a private villa while watching the last of the afternoon’s rays sweep across the sky and melt into the Caribbean Sea right out the window.

Soon visitors will not have to just imagine that scenario, the first completed villas at the luxury fractional ownership property Pond Bay Club should be available for occupancy by next winter.

 

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Pond Bay Club’s 15-acre site in Chocolate Hole.

Two of the 17 buildings on the almost 15 acre site on Chocolate Hole Bay on the southwest coast of Love City will be expansive two-story 4,200-square foot spa villas, which will feature private treatment rooms.

The spa villas — located on the beachfront portion of the Pond Bay Club property — include three bedrooms, three full baths, a library, formal dining room, and terraces leading right to the shoreline.

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Beach Cottage buildings.

 

Also lining the shore are six beachfront cottage units in three one-story buildings and a two-story beach  villa which consists of four units. The three-bedroom beach cottages are comprised of 2,275-square feet plus a 725-square foot covered terrace which includes a private jetted hot tub just steps away from the sand.
The three-bedroom beach villa units afford unobstructed views of the Caribbean Sea and include front and back terraces on both levels.

Destination Spa

A club house, restaurant and large, extravagant infinity edged pool will overlook the beach as well. Five two-story clubhouse villas will be comprised of 18, 2,100-square foot three-bedroom units surrounding the Pond Bay House area. A fitness center, retail shops and top-of-the-line spa will be located nearby.

A destination in itself, the 16,000-square-foot ESPA will include relaxation rooms, coral steam rooms and a full compliment of holistic and therapeutic services.

Four two-story hillside villas are similar in layout to the club house villas but located on the eastern portion of the Pond Bay Club property. Two one-story pond cottages, overlooking the salt pond on site, will include three-bedrooms and large covered terraces with private jetted tubs.

 

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Artist rendering of the Spa Villa living room.
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Spa Villa study.

 

Sleek and Modern with Caribbean Charm

Traditional Caribbean stucco and stone exteriors will lead into open and airy rooms with vaulted cathedral ceilings ranging from 8-and-one-half to 12-feet high. The modern exposed stairways will be comprised of structural steel with marble slabs for treads.

Villa floors will be made of Romanian marble while the front doors will be comprised of sturdy Spanish cedar. Terraces will feature heavy timber construction with exposed rafters and tongue and groove fittings.

An arrival building, back of house administration structure and a bocci court round out construction plans on the site.

Sister Resort on St. Barths

The road from imagination to reality has been a long one for Pond Bay Club, a Folio Collection property the sister resort of which is Isle de France on St. Barthelomy. After rounds of hearings with Department of Planning and Natural Resources officials which spanned several years, progress at the site is now moving along on schedule.

The fast pace of construction is in no small part due to the steadfast Jay Wicklund, general contractor Wharton Smith Inc.’s senior project manager. Wicklund relocated to Love City from Atlanta with this wife and two children to oversee the project.

“We probably have between 65 and 75 guys on the site on any given day,” said Wicklund. “We’ll have more workers too as we get further. While you’re never quite where you want to be, we’re moving along very well.”

“We’re absolutely very pleased with the progress,” Wicklund added.

Logistics Covered

Ensuring those employees have tasks to complete is a major part of the project’s success, Wicklund explained.

“We have two full-time logistics guys — one in Florida and one here,” said the senior project manager. “Their only job is to make sure that we have supplies. We have 34 containers ready to be unloaded right now.”

“I’d rather pay container storage fees and have the materials than be short of anything,” Wicklund said.

Currently work is concentrated on the beachfront structures, the first of which should be finished in the next couple months. Once complete, the Pond Bay Club offices will move into a beachfront cottage, which will also serve as a tantalizing model for prospective buyers.

Fractional Ownership

The units are available for sale on a one-tenth interest basis, which translates into about five weeks a year. Buyers can purchase all 10 interests in a particular villa or specific week increments. Owners are also free to use the units whenever they are unoccupied, explained Bill Orwig, Pond Bay Club’s director of sales.

“Flexibility is the key word,” said Orwig. “Owners can come anytime the units are available at no extra fee. They will have their reserved weeks and then be able to use their unit whenever it’s open.”

Pond Bay Club owners can put their unwanted weeks in a rental pool and will also have the option of joining a reciprocity program with Ultimate Escapes, Orwig added.
Looking ahead, Wicklund expects construction to be complete in late 2010.

“Somewhere towards Christmas 2010, all the units should be buttoned up, completed and turned over to the owners,” he said. “The original plan was 30 months of construction and it might end up being about 33 months, only because all the high-end finishes take just a hair longer.”

Prices for a one-tenth ownership range from the low $300,000s to the high $800,000. For more information about Pond Bay Club check out their website, foliocollection.com, or call 779-8881.