LIMETREE BEACH CLUB, St. Thomas
RETROFIT TEAM
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: J. Benton Construction
ARCHITECT: Silverberg Associates, (609) 921-1867
ROOFING CONTRACTOR: Central Roofing, (601) 898-9948
TIMESHARE OPERATOR: Club Wyndham
MATERIALS
Hurricanes devastated properties across the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) a few years ago, including on St. Thomas where the former Bluebeard Beach Club resort lost roofs on all seven of its guest- room buildings, which also all suffered significant moisture damage. Several smaller structures were so badly damaged they needed to be demolished. Club Wyndham and the homeowners’ association decided to use the destruction as an opportunity to rebuild better and rebrand the development with a more upscale appearance. Three years later, the renamed Limetree Beach Club opened with new amenities and upgraded metal roofs, featuring a signature blue finish that make the resort easy to spot, by land or by sea.
“This project was very similar to a total rehab project,” says Dave Rutberg, Silverberg Associates’ project manager, describing the interior and exterior damage suffered by the buildings that survived the storm. “We had to basically gut everything to the structural members, so we were left with a blank canvas. We tried to be sympathetic to the original buildings on the site.”
The building team opted for a two-phased approach to the restoration effort, focusing on the guest-room buildings first to make them weathertight. Then they took on the services buildings, which all needed to be replaced, including a check-in facility, gym and pool lanai, relocating them on the property to maximize views and allow room for expansion. This new construction also included an additional building for guest rooms designed with accessibility in mind.
The previous roof had been metal but with a Spanish-style tile pattern in a terra-cotta finish. The new roof features PAC-CLAD Tite-Loc Plus panels from Petersen in the company’s Interstate Blue finish. Central Roofing specified the panels in 0.032-gauge aluminum to better withstand the salt spray prevalent at the coastal location.
With construction complete, the reimagined resort has been happily accepting guests again. Chris Creely, Central Roofing’s manager, says he’s proud of the part his team played in getting the popular vacation spot back in business. “I think we did an excellent job, and the general contractor was more than pleased,” he says.
TITE-LOC PLUS METAL ROOFING PANELS: Petersen
PHOTOS: brianadamsphoto.com