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October 5, 2007
World Heritage Foundation on St. Croix this week to explore development of cultural heritage center Five representatives of the World Heritage Foundation who are visiting St. Croix this week, met Wednesday morning with Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr., Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty and representatives of the Departments of Agriculture and Property and Procurement. St. Croix is one of three destinations being considered for the development of a cultural heritage center. "The members of the foundation have toured the island of St. Croix and through the Tourism department, a presentation was coordinated for the group which included several cultural offerings," deJongh said. St. Croix Senator James Weber represented the 27th Legislature at the meeting in which the World Heritage Foundation discussed the potential for the development of the cultural center. The World Heritage Foundation is an Ohio based charitable organization which was established in 2003 with the mission to serve the needs of young people through innovation and initiative for learning, training and empowerment. It seeks sites with natural historical or education significance for future generations. The cultural heritage center has a strong educational and sports component which can act to diversify the offering for the tourism market. deJongh invited the foundation officials to visit St. Croix and begin the process of determining whether the center’s development would be feasible. The governor also assigned representatives of several government agencies to research and develop recommendations on the viability of the concept from the foundation. During this week’s visit to St. Croix, the WHF representatives also conducted site inspections for considered development of the cultural center. The development will require a minimum of 200 acres of contiguous real estate. There is a team from the WHF that will lead the development of the Caribbean Cultural Center including: Project Coordinator Jack Butler; architect Oscar Garcia; Fundraising coordinator Michelle Cramer, general counsel Jerry Allen and public relations/marketing specialist Jon Manning. The project and the potential for its development on St. Croix are being advocated for by long-term St. Croix resident Ken Manning, who is also a member of the board of the World Heritage Foundation. St. Croix resident David Nissman has also been involved in coordinating the meeting between the World Heritage Foundation and the V.I. Government. |
