TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Club O needs "outside the box thinking"

http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenan...amp;o=f&l=f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/22262384182...p;ul_noapp=true

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...=mrc&uact=8

Just start throwing them out there.......

They can elevate
They can go more concrete
They can go portable shipping container on a foundation
They can go luxury air conditioned tents
They could have pontoons

They can do what they already had as long as insurance pays to rebuild

I would think a prefab design they own the drawings of and can put out for bid and shipped in bolt it to the slab. Voila

I'm sure they already thought of this last time and got 20 years.......just time to innovate

No need to rip ideas, this is a brainstorming session

https://www.proudgreenhome.com/news/home...rgy-efficiency/
See link. Wind loading is 175 mph. Material is light so shipping cost would be much less. Energy efficiency would add on-going value.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rv+beach...FplZDlrnxGXQFM:

This wont be upscale enough for some but the chalets were already rustic...they grew on us

They could tow these to a shelter prior to storm. Have a permanent deck with outdoor shower and grill. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

I agree going the pre-fab route. The could do something like the below and figure out a good porch configuration. Prefab panels would be the best. They could ship the whole village over at once.

http://bukit.co/p/9292/beautiful-prefab-...homes-for-sale/

I don't think "outside the box" means you can't rebuild permanent structures to replace those lost at Club O or anywhere else on island for that matter. As I said in an earlier post, the clues of what will and won't work are there. Water levels in a worst case scenario are now known. likely wind directions are known. What remained intact nearby is a helpful clue. Reinforced concrete elevated a foot above flood elevation on piers is a tried and true method of building in zones like this. So what are the rooms like? What do the buildings look like? It's important they look like the typical buildings in this region. We all go to feel a part of that and without it you might as well be elsewhere. The outside the box thinking should relate more to the building orientations and protective structures to break any wave action and minimize wind damage. You can't stop all damage but it can be minimized with good building practices. May need to climb a few steps and lounge on a deck 5 or 6 feet up. Is that so bad? Think of the views it will offer.

The "out of the box thinking" will need to address these issues and more: 1) the French building codes may not allow habitable portions of structures below the height of possible storm surge. This might prevent rehabbing the concrete chalets; 2) the title to the properties are still impaired by the 1860s Beauperthuy estate mess (now is the time for the French government to end this stupid case with legislation), 3) there are a number of members of the condo association who are not covered by any insurance and will probably not agree to any plan to restore the resort; 4) making the resort financially sound will require addressing: a) the dichotomy between owners that want to make money or at least break even, while using their unit as a vacation properties, and owners that want to use them as second homes, and b) the current system which divides the money equally regardless of whether your unit has been modernized, well decorated and amply furnished, or you have taken the path of decorating the walls with old placemats(sorry Al) from out of business restaurants; and 5) the resort had its own water plant, power plant, and sewer plant, all designed by one of the early owners, Bill Schertzer, at a time public facilities were not remotely possible. If those facilities have been destroyed, the cost to connect to public power, sewer and water may be crippling.

Move To Happy Bay

It's funny I was saying about the same thing, but I was talking about the beach bars at Orient. I said why don't they pour a cement slab and put a food truck on it or food trailer, such as at the fairs. That way a if a hurricane was coming they could move it to a higher safe place. When they built the new beach bars I couldn't believe they made them out of wood instead of cement and on stilts as seen in flood areas. I guess they never read the 3 little pigs.

The problem with Happy Bay is no wind