One of St. Croix’s most celebrated events is making a triumphant return for its 24th year! Taste of St. Croix returns on Thursday, April 18th to showcase St. Croix’s culinary scene from a host of restaurants, caterers, private chefs, and other culinary-based businesses throughout the territory. For the past two decades, Taste of St. Croix has uniquely captured the spirit and flavor of St. Croix’s hospitality industry by way of a celebration that is now recognized as one of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ premier food and wine events. Over the course of three hours, guests are welcome to sample a variety of local and international tastings and savor a selection of elegant wines from around the world.
Event Director Collin Hodge has been involved with Taste of St. Croix since its inception in 2001. “I was initially brought on as a consultant for the event and soon after came on board as event coordinator,” said Hodge. In 2022, the event returned to its original location, Divi Carina Bay Resort, after the property reopened following extensive renovations due to devastating damage from 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria. Hodge shared that it feels good to be back home at Divi with Taste, and he looks forward to another successful installment of the event. This year, the event has added a five-course wine dinner as a prelude to the main event. On Wednesday, April 17th, guests can look forward to unique wines from Segura Viudas, Robert Mondavi, Elouan, and Quest, each expertly paired with food tastings courtesy of Grapetree Bay Hotel. Tickets are $250 per person and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
A 501 (c)(3) non-profit, Taste of St. Croix promotes and showcases the talent and potential of St. Croix’s hospitality industry through fostering partnerships, sponsoring training and industry events, and building public awareness of service-industry importance to the socio-economic future of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The 24th Taste of St. Croix will take place on Thursday, April 18th at Divi Carina Bay Resort from 6pm to 9pm. General admission tickets are available for purchase at $125 per person; VIP tickets are officially sold out. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.tasteofstcroix.com.
Here are 6 common reasons why a property is not selling on St. Croix:
It’s in a problematic spot. As they say, in real estate it’s all about location. Tough locations aren’t always a reflection of the neighborhood. If your home backs up to the highway, lies directly in the flight path for the airport, or faces a street which feels bustling, Buyers may hesitate. If you can’t change a less-desirable element of your location, work with it. Try to turn it into something positive, or deal with it in pricing. Use landscaping to block an undesirable view or muffle noise, reframe an oil refinery overlook as “evening lights,” and highlight a busy street as a convenient way to get around island.
It’s dirty or cluttered. We recommend making your home as clean and impersonal as possible, at least for the photos. Repaint, pack up your extensive assortment of travel souvenirs, and remove litter boxes and pets before your showings. The Buyers need to visualize themselves living in the home with their own belongings.
It needs maintenance. When Buyers see deferred maintenance or a house unkept, they begin to worry about the things in the home they can’t see. It makes a bad first impression. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Do whatever maintenance you can. Repairs will show up in the property inspection, but this is about first impressions.
Poor curb appeal. The way your home looks when potential Buyers arrive or drive by is important. The first time the Buyer sees the home, they begin passing judgment. A fresh coat of paint on the door, welcoming pots of flowers, and maintained landscaping are simple fixes which go a long way and help the Buyer feel interested.
An unattractive or inaccurate listing. The description and details of the property need to be accurate, any documents included, and the property should be mapped correctly so that people can find it. Photos should be thoughtful, well-lit, and properly-framed images and videos which show your home or condo at its best. High quality photos and videos matter, and the order of the photos is very important. If there is a view, this should be featured in the first 3 photos.
The price is too high. Some sellers do not realize how valuable initial pricing is. Besides the main photo, it’s the first impression of a listing. Sometimes Sellers have a belief that their home is worth more than the market will support. We provide current market analysis to assist with initial pricing. Feedback from showings and the number of showings are helpful in determining whether the price should be lower.
Contact us with any questions about real estate on St. Croix!
Some of the sale listings we see on MLS (Multiple Listing Service) surprise us and NOT in a good way! The photos show the owners’ personal items on the counters or all over the bedrooms, photos are taken vertically instead of horizontally so that less of the rooms are visible, the lighting is poor, the descriptions are uninteresting, the skies are grey, or there are no walkthrough videos or drone videos and photography. Properties are sometimes even mapped incorrectly. We have seen some mapped off-shore in the Caribbean Sea!
In our listings, we take time creating them so that they are accurate, descriptive, and attractive. We have crisp clear photos with most of the personal items removed or hidden, videos to show the property (sometimes including a self-guided 3-D tour), and include any helpful documents such as maps, surveys or plot maps, list of improvements, rules and regulations, and floor plans.
We have sold properties to off island buyers sight unseen, which makes us a little nervous. If the listing has poor photos, or if there’s something our Buyers particularly want to see, we take those photos or videos. Once a Buyer asked for close-up photos of all of the plumbing fixtures. One house was on a rough road, so we took a driving video. We have done FaceTime calls to walk through the property with Buyers answering their questions as we went. The first time they actually saw the house was after it had closed and we handed them the keys!
Contact us with any questions about real estate on St. Croix!
Christie is an avid reader and we are so excited to see the Florence Williams Public Library, a historic institution in downtown Christiansted finally reopen on April 9, 2024 after being shuttered by the 2017 hurricanes. As reported by the VI Daily News (article available here), Gov. Albert Bryan Jr., Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach, Senate President Novelle Francis Jr., Disaster Recovery Director Adrienne Williams-Octalien, and Planning and Natural Resources Department Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
WTJX also reported that the new and improved four-story library features two levels of shelves lined with books, and an upgraded computer area with the latest software programs and access to digital audio books that are part of the integration of the Library for the Blind and Physically Challenged. The library features a multipurpose room to host community events that has video conferencing capabilities, and a children’s room with a Taino hut that provides a fun space for reading. WTJX also said the public can look forward to the brightly colored mural and paintings, archives and special collections, a photo duplication lab, and government documents available at the renovated library. The $702,775 recovery project, which included federal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was completed by Heights Construction & Supply LLC. Read the full article here.
We saw op-ed articles on the St Croix Source and the VI Daily News urging the preservation of the Ham’s Buff Lighthouse. Over the years, Olasee Davis (author of both op-ed pieces) has written several articles over the years about the need to preserve the historic lighthouse on Ham’s Bluff in the northwest corner of St. Croix, which is part of Maroon Country’s steep cliff wilderness area. There is a lot of history and significance to this historic lighthouse and it is in dire need of repair. We recommend you reading the St Croix Source article here and the VI Daily News article here. We hope the restoration will finally happen!
Photo from VI Daily News
Here is a video of the view from Ham’s Bluff Lighthouse. There is a hiking trail to Hams Bluff Lighthouse where you can find stunning view of the North Shore.
