TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Orient beach construction

Elsewhere on this board there are pictures of the reconstruction going on at Orient Beach. Does anyone know when the buildings will be completed and who will occupy them? I hope Cheryl is one of them.

It was reported here on another thread that Cheryl will not be returning.

Here is an article from yesterday about the construction on Orient Beach (translated from french). Pelican Article

thanks for posting the link and the (rather tortured) translation! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

The last part of the article "concerns of a former operator" is very disturbing. Their equipment was removed before demolition and they still don't know if it will be returned or even if they will get a new building, and the article says the opening should be by mid-November!!! Two weeks time <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

It has to be incredibly difficult for them, can't imagine how hard. It seems to say that the government took possession of his equipment, which doesn't seem logical to me. I am hoping maybe that is a mangling of what was actually said.

I read the original article in French.
What the old operator says is that the Community of St Martin took all the equipment from the old constructions (he/she doesn't say why) and this person is not even sure that the equipment will fit in the new ones.

Again, why the Gov of St Martin took the old equipment is not explained but we can imagine that it was for storing it until it could be reinstalled.

He/she also complains that the Gov of St Martin has dropped the ball and left the old operators in the dark.
He/she has no clue when the new construction will be completed, how much the rent will be and he/she doesn't even know if he'll get one.
The new buildings will be attributed by seniority, with a priority given to the last operators of the old structures. But the operators in the new buildings will also have to comply with new economic and social requirements, which nobody knows what they are at this point.

In a nutshell it's a cluster.... Pardon my French.

Thanks for the translation

You're welcome. Howdy from the Burgh (Blawnox). <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Well Blawnox is close to Jean Marc's for a Pain au chocolat

OK, thanks for the clarification of the original French. That really doesn't make sense, that they would take their equipment. I personally wouldn't allow them to do that... Such a difficult situation for them.

Well, if the previous buildings were torn down, where the business owners could they have put their equipment? I'm only speculating that there was an arrangement between them and the Gov of St Martin to store it somewhere until it could be reinstalled once the new construction was completed.
I don't see the Gov of St Martin taking the equipment without their consent. I suppose that if an operator wasn't interested in relocating his business in the new buildings, then he would have taken his stuff and move it somewhere else.
I dunno. It's kind of weird, I agree, but at the same time, it makes some sense. I dunno.

True. I know Jean-Marc in Millvale and go there from time to time. I also know Frederic at Paris 66. The French community here is not very big so we know pretty much everybody.
What part of the Burgh are you from?

Yes I'm sure that people agreed to it at the time, but me, I don't trust anyone, I would try to store it somewhere myself. Especially since there really is no guarantee that the old proprietors will be able to reopen there, considering what the new 'requirements' are, which who knows what they are.

plequerre, sent you a PM <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />