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April 7, 2008
HFA ISSUES CALL FOR PROPOSALS TO DEVELOP AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS ON ST. THOMAS AND ST. CROIX; DEJONGH ADMINISTRATION PROVIDES FUNDS TO "BUY-DOWN" THE UNITS’ SELLING PRICE The Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority is seeking the development of affordable housing initiatives on St. Thomas and St. Croix. It is the first such development for the deJongh / Francis Administration which will provide home ownership opportunities to Virgin Islands residents. "I was pleased to see the Requests for Proposals being issued by the HFA for the two development initiatives which will transform about 20 acres of land into about 50 units in each island district," deJongh said. On St. Thomas, the property is located in Estate Donoe behind the new Animal Care Campus and on St. Croix the development site is at Bonne Esperance to the rear of Caribbean Auto Mart. Once out to bid, interested developers will respond in June, and by July, a selection will be made, according to HFA Executive Director Clifford Graham. He said the developer will then have to complete architectural drawings and engineering renderings as well as all necessary permits and construction financing before commencing work. Graham said he anticipates that this phase will take up to a year to complete. The cost of construction of each unit is estimated at $250,000 on St. Thomas and $200,000 on St. Croix. "A portion of $5.9 million provided by my Administration in conjunction with Federal HOME funding was used to buy-down the selling price of the units," deJongh said. The Administration remains committed to working with the HFA to provide home ownership opportunities for Virgin Islands residents who share a desire to own their own home. "Mr. Graham has a tremendous number of plans to address the issue of affordable and moderate income housing in the Virgin Islands." DeJongh said the more immediate challenge, however, is for the Administration to address the land use plan for Water Island which was developed by the University of the Virgin Islands. "This is the just beginning of the initiatives we plan to undertake and with the housing entities now consolidated under the Housing Finance Authority and with the central government’s continued financial support, the need for both affordable housing and low to moderate-income housing can be addressed in a more comprehensive manner." |
