$60 Million price tag on USVI Development; islands once owed by Epstein

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

May 15, 2023 – Stephen Deckoff, US investor with SD Investments LLC. bought Great St. James and Little St. James Islands in the US Virgin Islands at US$60 million and the plan is to build an exclusive resort of 25 rooms on the islands, formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein, accused federal sex trafficker, who died in 2019.

It is expected to be open for business by 2025 and potentially foster tourism development as well as job creation for the USVIs, as expressed by SD Investments.

The islands have plenty of room for such investments and more; Little St. James, 70 acres (28 hectares), with three beaches, a helipad, and a gas station; Great St. James, 160 acres (65 hectares) and more than three beaches.

Additionally, the investment firm said, a considerable share of the islands’ sale proceeds [the sum of the service units (products, services) sold by a corporation within a particular period], will go to the USVIs Government as part of a previous deal with Epstein’s estate.

The price for the islands were previously set at US$110 million, 55 million each, however, the reasons for the price change were not disclosed.