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AT A GLANCE
Port St.
Charles
Marina
WHAT: Luxury Caribbean marina
resort development
WHERE: NW coast of Barbados,
West Indies
WEBSITE:
port st. charles marina
consisting of two adjacent plots. The men were
boaters, they liked fishing, and their dream was
to build a resort property on the water with
easy access from one’s home, right onto one’s
boat, and out to the Caribbean Sea.
The group discussed the feasibility of creat-
ing a marina, and hired architect Ian Morrison
to draft the details. The project took many
years of working with the Barbadian govern-
ment to achieve planning permission, which
included a port of entry to the country. At the
time, any boater who wanted to travel, say to
the Grenadines, needed to go to Bridgetown to
clear immigration and customs.
General Manager of Port St. Charles, Stephen
Austin, explains, “The government and the de-
velopers finally agreed to partner in the con-
struction of a law enforcement building at Port
St. Charles, on the north coast of the island,
which would be a base for Customs and Immi-
gration, the Coast Guard, and a site to enhance
security on Barbados. That’s how it all started.”
Because Port St. Charles was constructing
homes to sell to people outside the country, it
was bringing foreign exchange into Barbados.
The government saw the benefits, and began
offering concessions to encourage both the
development and sales. Anyone who purchased
property in Port St. Charles could bring a boat into
Barbados, duty free, a savings of 40–60 percent,
depending on the type of boat.They could also
bring in their first furniture package for their
home, duty free.
“Construction started in 1996,” says Austin,“and
the plan was not just to build the entire product
out and then sell it, but to sell as we went along
–in phases.The first phase,we presented plans to
interested people, and as soon as we got 60 per-
cent of the sales going we started to build.That
allowed potential owners to paymoney down on
the property, and select certain changes–to tiles,
cupboards, countertops.As we went on,we got
better at our build, and changed the design ac-
cording to what people wanted.”