All around the peninsula, you can see the difference. Locals and longtime visitors can sense a change in the tradewinds.

Christophe Harbour is rapidly taking shape on St. Kitts, particularly noticeable in the past year since the Sugar Industry Diversity Foundation (SIDF) and the Darby Family Investment Group established their partnership.

Speedier, soulful progress can be seen at every curve, hillside and beach. SALT Plage is now open on Whitehouse Bay serving cool drinks and ceviche by the sea—the bar’s open-air design incorporates local artifacts from the island’s historic sugar and salt industries.

Dredging work and the first phase of the Marina is now proceeding on schedule, and is expected to be complete by year-end. That means Christophe Harbour will soon be able to welcome the world’s finest yachts to the most naturally-advantaged, secure harbour in the West Indies. Site work is also underway for Park Hyatt St. Kitts on Nevis-facing Banana Bay. To complete Phase I of this five-star property, the UK-based construction company Kier estimates it will hire approximately 250 people from St. Kitts and Nevis for construction jobs, and provide training for a pool of locally-based employees.

Following last year’s split with Kiawah Partners, energy for Christophe Harbour could have faltered, but instead of splintering, a stronger partnership was born. The continuity and vision for the project persisted as Buddy Darby exercised his option of ownership and retained many from the original leadership team at Christophe Harbour who were also instrumental in establishing Kiawah Island, South Carolina and Doonbeg, Ireland. With SIDF, Darby and the re-energized and growing team moves with new forward momentum.

A Christophe Harbour employee who grew up on the island remarked recently that it feels like the successes are happening day by day. Along with the other developments, the popular Bungalows are now properly perched at Sandy Bank Bay, bringing guests within a few barefoot steps of the patios, restaurant and pool of The Pavilion beach club. New roads, trails, utilities and other infrastructure has been added or enhanced throughout Christophe Harbour, and seven private homes were completed in 2013. (Another 6-10 will be finished this year.) Meanwhile, following a record $21.7 million in residential sales in 2013, closings in just the first half of 2014 have already surpassed that amount.

Sales aren’t only to speculative buyers, Darby notes. Over the past year, he’s seen people “coming from around the world and choosing not only to build luxury homes, but to invest in St. Kitts and become part of this growing, thriving community.”

Christophe Harbour is, after all, built on relationships and a shared appreciation of the natural and cultural beauty of St. Kitts. The partnership with SIDF—and the leadership of its CEO, Terrance Crossman—enables Christophe Harbour to develop even stronger on-island relationships through the hiring of local employees, thoughtful project development, and charitable efforts.

In 2013, the Christophe Harbour Foundation donated more than $135,000 EC to benefit initiatives on St. Kitts and Nevis. In addition to purchasing new library books for the island’s schools, and helping with a wildlife preservation project to install nesting poles for osprey, last summer the Foundation facilitated the transfer of a gift of maternity ward medical equipment from the Medical University of South Carolina to the Joseph N. France General Hospital in St. Kitts.

What an incredible year, with much ahead on the pink and gold-tinted horizons of Christophe Harbour—including the Tom Fazio-designed golf course to open in 2017. It’s a bright future indeed thanks to many!!