FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ST. THOMAS-ST. JOHN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION, INC.,
AND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS ANNOUNCE TWO MAJOR CIVIC
BEAUTIFICATION GIFTS
St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce ("Chamber"), Downtown Revitalization, Inc.
("DRI"), and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands ("CFVI") are pleased to
announce two major gifts in support of the important public-private partnership
planning for the future of the Charlotte Amalie waterfront in collaboration with the
Government of the Virgin Islands ("GVI") and Department of Public Works ("DPW"), the
lead agency responsible for certain capital projects aimed at revitalizing our historic
town. This public-private partnership has been made possible through the support of
many generous donors.
In 2010 – 2011, the GVI through DPW and Department of Planning and Natural
Resources ("DPNR") along with CFVI invited the community to participate in a visioning
process to formulate a plan for downtown, called The Town’s Blueprint: A Vision and
Code for Historic Charlotte Amalie. The Town's Blue Print effort was made possible by a
$400,000 gift to CFVI from the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust. In speaking of
the new gift, Richard H. Driehaus stated, “It gives me great pleasure to support this
important civic vision for St. Thomas’ waterfront and historic downtown. This
beautification effort, like my past support of Roosevelt Park, will enhance St. Thomas’
sense of place and will, I hope, stimulate other such initiatives.”
Adopted in concept by an Executive Order of the GVI, the planning process featured a
bottoms-up approach, that allowed community members with different perspectives to
work together in collaborative settings, and resulted in a common vision and consensus
on many issues. In addition, presentations and an open design studio engaged
community members in learning more about urban design, planning, the opportunities
and constraints present in Charlotte Amalie, and the implications of various choices,
resulting in informed community input.
In 2013, the Chamber and DRI entered into a Memorandum Of Understanding (“MOU”)
with the GVI through DPW in which the private sector was invited to join the
Government's design team to further the common goals of The Town’s Blueprint for the
continued revitalization of the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. DRI and the Chamber
retained The Town’s Blueprint planners (Dover, Kohl & Partners) to provide assistance
with the continued refinement and subsequent implementation of concepts contained
in The Town’s Blueprint, in a collaborative partnership with DPW and their consultants,
Jaredian Design Group and PB Americas, in the planning and design for Veterans Drive
improvements. Community workshops sponsored by DPW, Chamber and DRI and led by
this collective design team were conducted in July and November 2013 to review
updated plans and ideas and to receive community input. This unprecedented publicprivate collaboration, which carried the design work for Veterans Drive to over 30%
completion, was made possible through generous donations from International Capital
Management and Company, Innovative Companies, TOPA Equities, Auven Therapeutics,
Lexington Management, First Bank, Diamonds International, Little Switzerland, India
Association, Lockhart Caribbean Corporation and Thatch Cay.
The Chamber, DRI and CFVI are pleased to announce two new major gifts to this
continuing effort. In response to a request from the Chamber and DRI, the Richard H.
Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust has made a new grant of $100,000 to CFVI. Furthermore
International Capital and Management Company (“ICMC”) has made an additional grant
of $50,000 to the Chamber/DRI Fund at CFVI. “The revitalization of the downtown
historic district is a wonderful attempt to upgrade and preserve one of the most
valuable group of assets that were bequeathed to us from past generations. ICMC is
extremely proud to be part of this effort that beings together many individuals and
organizations from both the private and public sectors” stated Cornel Williams,
President, ICMC. Both gifts will allow this public-private partnership to continue as
planning for Veterans Drive improvements progresses through design, engineering, and
implementation. We are grateful for the vision of and support for the Virgin Islands by
the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust and ICMC to help in an effort to improve
the quality of life in the Territory and its economic well-being.
The Chamber, DRI and CFVI also wish to thank the GVI and DPW for their willingness to
include and embrace the private sector in this process.
For further information contact:
Sebastiano Paiewonsky Cassinelli or Joe Aubain at (340) 776-0600
David A. Bornn at (340) 774-2501
Dee Baecher-Brown at (340) 774-6031