There's a buzz about St Kitts as the Caribbean gets ready for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Lauren Mulhall looks at plans for a resort with an artists' village at its heart
Those travelling to the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies early next year to witness Ireland's first appearance on the big stage will have the opportunity to explore some of the beautiful and varied islands along the Caribbean Sea.
One destination well prepared for the onslaught of touring cricket fanatics is St Kitts, a small tropical Leeward island in the eastern Caribbean. Like its co-federation island Nevis, St Kitts has remained largely unspoiled. Roads twist and turn through the gently sloping countryside dotted with former sugar mills and mountainous terrain acts as a back-drop to lush rainforests, palm-fringed sandy beaches and deep blue waters.
Since the Caribbean was selected as a host for the high profile tournament, St Kitts has embraced the challenge of bringing its infrastructure up to the level necessary to pull off such a large scale event.
Construction of a new Warner Park Stadium with world class facilities for media, officials, spectators and players was completed ahead of schedule in July.
Off the cricket field, Royal St Kitts Golf Club has remodelled its 18-hole championship course and the La Valle Golf Course is making many improvements, including restoration of the three old sugar mills on its property.
The St Kitts Scenic Railway has been created to give visitors a glimpse of the island's natural beauty. The double decker train travels along the narrow-gauge railway built between 1912 and 1926 to transport sugar cane.
Basseterre, the island's capital, is also in the midst of a revival. In addition to restored period architecture, Basseterre also has a selection of new shops, restaurants and cafés.
Continued investment in infrastructure is a significant part of the government's development plan for tourism which, along with property sales, has become the main driving force in the Federation's economy.
While sugar was the mainstay of the economy for more than 300 years, rising production costs and an announced loss of preferential market access permanently impaired the industry resulting in its closure in 2005.
"We want to move beyond the mere subsistence from sugar agriculture. We want to move into another and new exciting economic activity which is being spurred on by tourism and hospitality services," says the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Denzil Douglas.
Contributing to the vigour of St Kitt's tourism industry are several new resort developments, one of which is to be built on government-owned sugar cane land in the island's verdant north-west.
Kittitian Heights is a five-star resort development to be built on 390 acres of land on the lower slopes of Mount Liamuiga overlooking the town of St Paul's.
The site has panoramic views over the Caribbean Sea towards the island of St Eustatius. Developer Val Kempadoo of Belmont Resorts says the philosophy behind the project is to support and integrate with the local culture and economy.
"The future development of the Caribbean is inextricably linked to the tourism and hospitality sector. The current resort models in the Caribbean, while commercially successful, do not address the significant impact that tourism has on the social and cultural fabric of our small island states," says Kempadoo.
"As the tourism sector rapidly expands in the region it is imperative that new business models be created that address these critical areas in a truly sustainable manner. Kittitian Heights seeks to move away from the gated or all inclusive resort model by embracing the local community."
Located nearly 15 miles from Basseterre, the resort will comprise a boutique hotel, luxury villas and townhouses, recording studio, spa, 18-hole championship golf course designed by Ian Woosnam, a clubhouse, practice academy/drive range and plant nursery.
At the heart of the resort will be an artists' village, a creative facility that will encourage the local, regional and international artistic community through a series of initiatives and events.
Other facilities within the village will include an amphitheatre and piazza, cafés, restaurants and a cinema. There will also be a high-tech multimedia studio outfitted with the latest digital equipment for television, postproduction, film production, animation and music recording.
A percentage of the proceeds from the real estate sales and ongoing profits from the resorts operations will go towards establishing the Kittitian Heights Foundation which will fund the artists' residency Programme.
Under the scheme, local, regional and international artists in the visual arts, music and literature will be offered a two-month residency. Artists will exhibit their work in the resort and participate in workshops for young Kittitians.
Kittitian Heights will be built in a similar style to the existing plantation resorts on the island. Construction will take six years and will be built in phases.
Phase one is due for completion in 2008 and will include 67 freehold villa plots and villas where purchasers have a choice of five designs: 54 freehold buy-to-let cottages of one, two and three bedrooms; 74 apartments and townhouses of two and three bedrooms, the artists' village and golf course.
Prices will start at €257,486 (US$330,000) for a one-bedroom cottage, €298,846 (US$383,040) for a two-bedroom apartment; villas start from €825,743 (US$1,058,079). Villa plots (0.51 acres upwards) are available.
There are weekly direct flights to St Kitts from London with charter airline Excel. Other airlines fly to Antigua, where an inter-island flight can be picked up. Airlines flying there include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, BWIA, Sunsail/First Choice Airways from London and BMI from Manchester.
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