Senators to receive testimony on controversial Latitude 18 redevelopment today

Senators will convene today in the Committee of the Whole for testimony on the redevelopment of the former Latitude 18 marina — a project first proposed in 2019 and backed by Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.

The project also has received the approval of the Coastal Zone Management. The developer, Jack Rock B-A-C LLC, owns the 6.5-acre Latitude 18 marina property in Estate Nazareth, St. Thomas, and is planning to build a 10,000-square-foot restaurant, retail and marine services building, a 10,000-square-foot warehouse, a boat dry storage and service yard area, a 23,119-square-foot dock with 17 permanent slips, and a wave attenuator that reduces choppiness on the shoreline.

The developer will also take over the management of a mooring field on Muller and Vessup bays. Following a public hearing in August 2023 before the St. Thomas CZM Committee, members approved the permit in October of that year. Prior to the August hearing, there was an informational meeting organized by the developers in October 2019, as well as a September 2022 meeting where residents expressed their concerns before the St. Thomas CZM committee.