Meet the Creatives of Christophe Harbour

MANY CREATIVE MINDS HAVE COLLABORATED TO MAKE CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR A METICULOUSLY PLANNED, UNIQUE CARIBBEAN ESCAPE.

Brought together by Charles P. “Buddy” Darby III, former CEO of Kiawah Partners and developer of award-winning communities at Kiawah Island, S.C., and Doonbeg, Ireland, the team worked behind the scenes to make it possible. Here, in their words, is the story of how they did it and photographs of their own particular genius.

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VISIONARY CHARLES “BUDDY” DARBY III CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR

“I’ve developed a team of people, from architects and landscape architects to retail sales and operations. It’s amazing how well everybody collaborates. I’m not saying you don’t share different opinions from time to time, but at the end of the day, like a good family, everyone leaves the room speaking to each other. Part of that is the mutual respect that everybody has for each other; the talent-level bar is pretty high.

“I’m not an autocratic type of manager. People don’t fear me, I hope. I try to build consensus, even though doing that probably takes a little longer. Everyone knows they can speak their mind. There is no dumb response or idea. I’ve said a lot of times: ‘We have to get in there and peel the onion. We don’t get to a really good place until we peel away two or three layers of the onion.’ That’s my management style, and it has served me well.

“We’re always trying to make the next project we’re working on reach a new level. We don’t want to do a little beach bar on St. Kitts; we want to make the coolest, best beach bar that’s ever been built. So we research it, we get together and we give it to the architecture team, who takes it to that other level. We’ve been fortunate enough to have the resources to allow them to do that. And we get better with each project that we do.”


LAND PLANNER MARK PERMAR FOUNDING PRINCIPAL, PERMAR, INC.

“Christophe Harbour is the ultimate team project. It’s a whole series of Venn diagrams of people, a huge collaboration of people in different parts of the world, to combine their thinking to create the next great resort community.

“I’m a land planner, and we also have landscape architects and an architect, so I’m sort of the bridge between them. When we walk the land together, I’m constantly observing. I do a lot of photography so we can document the sites—both for communication and for memory.

“For example, when we started talking about Sandy Bank Bay, we had to decide the most appropriate location for The Pavilion beach club. I tend to look at the broader range of the context, as it relates to future home sites, and the basic natural setting, while the landscape architect thinks about the more intimate details of the site, at the same time the architect is starting to envision a particular style of the architecture—what would be the sequence, arriving at Pavilion, going through and being greeted and enjoying.

“We increase the chances of good things happening by spending a lot of time on the site, observing and talking to the citizens of St. Kitts, who are far more familiar with the land than we are.”


ARCHITECT JOHN HALEY DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE, CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR

“When I first saw Christophe Harbour, it was a shock to me because there was nothing there—just the landscape really, overrun with goats and cows. Frankly, I didn’t even know where to begin. But the company I work for has great vision, [land planner] Mark Permar identified opportunities for specific sites, and then I got to work.

“One project was the clubhouse Pavilion, which took about two years. I wanted it to feel like it had its own history of being there, even though it was all new. When you arrive you step into the breezeway and get a view of the pool that disappears into the Atlantic, and it looks seamless. It draws you through; you see all the nature surrounding you.

“Next I did the beach bar, Salt Plage, which was named one of the top eight beach bars in the world in a readers’ choice survey by Condé Nast Traveler. The inspiration was some old foundation walls I found in the bushes on-site. I have no idea what those foundations were actually for, but I know the area was once used to process salt—salt water would flood a place, the water would drain and the people would take the salt off the top. I decided that salt would be the inspiration, and that’s how the bar got its name. We salvaged metal and material from an abandoned sugar factory in Basseterre and built the buildings out of that.

“I love the fussy details of the building. It’s rare that anyone gets that up front, but it takes a lot of patience and a lot of understanding of what we’re going to be doing to get it to the finish line.”


LANDSCAPE JOSH DUNN SENIOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR

“We have a ‘designing with nature’ philosophy, so we spend a lot of time on-site and thinking about the ways we interact with what’s there already. We try to use native plants and plants that feel native. There is a balance we have to create because people come to the Caribbean and want to see those bright colors, the bougainvillea, while some of the native plants are of a different hue. In certain areas we use the native grasses and the gum trees, and in other places we introduce that tropical plant palette with the bromeliads. It all depends on the specific site or project, and the specific microclimate.

“We have planning and design sessions fairly frequently, with Mark Permar, John Haley, guided by the vision of Buddy Darby. We spent a lot of time on each project, and while that can be challenging at times, I think that’s a good thing. We put more effort in than a lot of others groups would to make sure the product comes out right and we can all hold our heads high. It’s important that we don’t check it off the list until it’s done right. If we need to adjust a planting by 10 degrees or move a tree just the right amount, that’s the extra effort that will push us to get an A-plus from homeowners.”


OPERATIONS JON GERSONDE VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR

“My commitment is to get the whole staff engaged, to contribute every single day and to be excited about the causes of Christophe Harbour. When we are grounded in common goals, and everyone is collaborating and on the same page, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish as a group.

“I focus on quality control, and we have a pretty stringent list of policies and procedures. It’s all about training, mentoring and coaching. In a luxury situation, it’s first defining what your standards are. Then it’s continuous training—every single day when I meet with the staff, I have a training topic—and defined training measures. It’s about being tenacious about quality and continuous improvement.

“We also gather all the staff and the managers to work on particular projects at Christophe Harbour. For example, we’ve worked together on a landscaping project in anticipation of a member guest event. So we have hourly employees and managers getting dirty together, with a rake and shovel, staff and management together. It’s the very essence of building relationships, which are the epitome of collaboration.”


RETAIL TERI PANTELAKOS DIRECTOR OF RETAIL MERCHANDISING, CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR

“Our retail store in the marina is called Joya St. Kitts, designed by our in-house architect John Haley. He’s putting in reclaimed wood beams, custom furniture and cabinetry—it’s 500 square feet of amazing. When you look out the window from the store, you can see all the yachts, so you have that view, and you have Champagne and can purchase women’s clothing, jewelry and shoes.

“When I was selecting what to sell in there, I knew many of our clients would be international, and I wanted a little piece of something terrific from everywhere. I did a ton of research, and we have brands from Australia, France, Italy, Madagascar, Greece, Ecuador and, of course, New York and Los Angeles. We also have jewelry made locally here on St. Kitts.

“Everything is Caribbean chic with an international flair. You can buy a $30 bracelet or an $800 dress. When you’re shopping on vacation, you want to make a memorable purchase. You don’t need it to be a designer piece—you can get that anywhere. I wanted everything in the store to be easy to put on and wear out of the store; I didn’t want things that people have to hem or tweak. These are things you’re going to feel comfortable saying, ‘Ah, I’m going to wear this on my boat tonight.’”


MARINA AENEAS HOLLINS DIRECTOR OF YACHTING AT THE MARINA, CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR

“Developing the yachting industry here from scratch and bringing it to fruition has been a wonderful journey. It’s been a joy to collaborate with the people on the island, the government, as well as my colleagues in sales and marketing.

“St. Kitts has had some high-end tourism, but the standards and customer-service levels vary and should be honed to the needs of large yachts, which is the highest end of service imaginable. While many tourists are concerned with costs, in this case cost isn’t paramount—it’s quality that’s the priority.

“So with that in mind, in the marina we set out to facilitate conversations with local businesses—to act as the middleman—and ensure that everyone gets what they want and need. For example, we worked with local florists, asked them to show us their range and identified what they could do best. We’re able to communicate what our captains will be looking for, and we can manage expectations on both sides. That’s been very fulfilling.”

ADDITIONAL PARTS IN THE SERIES
PART ONE // PART TWO // PART THREE

WELCOME TO LUXURY LIVING IN ST. KITTS

VISIT ST. KITTS

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