June 1, 2002 – Senators sighed in relief Friday night on St. Croix as they heard plans to expand the affordable housing options for more than 300 families on the island by developing or upgrading five projects that will include community space and a wholesome infrastructure.
Under the Housing Finance Authority, private home ownership will become available over the next three years for 49 families — in Christiansted, 22 units in Solitude and 16 units in Herman Hill, and in Frederiksted, 11 units in Phase IV at Mount Pleasant.
The newly appointed HFA executive director, Clifford Graham, said the plans to develop a total of 323 home ownership and rental units also include two V.I. Housing Authority ventures: revitalizing 194 units in Paradise, formerly the Louis E. Brown Villas, and redeveloping 80 units in the Croixville apartment community.
The information was presented at a hearing of the Senate Housing Parks and Recreation Committee on St. Croix. The committee, chaired by Sen. Celestino A. White Sr., held a similar session on Wednesday on St. Thomas to hear about the three-year plan for affordable housing for the St. Thomas-St. John district.
Al Simmonds, interim executive director of the V.I. Housing Authority, said the Louis E. Brown community "has been severely distressed since being ravaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, Hurricane Georges in 1998 and Hurricane Lenny in 1999."
As one flies over the housing community on the north side of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, it appears war ravaged. It is eerily quiet by day and hauntingly intimidating at night. But these are the remains of what once were homes for many families, most of them women and children seeking comfort and safety. Floral gardens and bountiful herbs and vegetable crops still adorn some. Trash and abandoned cars scar others. Some have stood as vacant shells for more than 12 years.
Last year, 17 two- and three-story apartment buildings were demolished; an application is pending for the removal of two others.
Cecilia Lawrence, 50, has resided in LEB for 20 years and had to relocate in April for the demolition. "I raised 13 children there over the years. I would like to return there," she said ecstatically when told of the plans for her former community.
"I lived on the second floor, but my neighbors and I used to plant and clean up around the area," she said. She also enjoyed volunteering at the Head Start center. She hopes she will be able to secure a job in her community through the services of the proposed employment training center.
Simmonds said the development plans utilize the last affordable residential property now available through his agency. The Housing Authority is negotiating with the Property and Procurement Department "for the possible acquisition of land from the central government," he told the senators Friday night. HFA plans to expand the three-year plan if more land becomes available.
The moderate-income single-family homes in Solitude will include individual cisterns and septic systems because the area is not served by potable water and sewage lines. The financing bank will provide construction loans, and mortgages will be available through the bank or the Housing Finance Authority. The homes will be built on one-third acre lots and priced at $120,000 to $135,000. Construction is to begin this month and completion is estimated for October 2003.
At Herman Hill, adjacent to the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency headquarters, 16 three-bedroom, two-bath homes served by potable water are to be built on a 10-acre site. Construction is to begin in March 2003 and be completed in May 2004.
The Mount Pleasant homes are to sell for $90,000 to $99,000, with work to start in May 2003 and be completed by August 2004.
The Louis E. Brown homes are to sell for $90,000 to $125,000, with work to start in January 2003 and be completed by December 2005.
Senators were pleased by the proposed development plan displayed by Elton Chongasing, director of planning and development for the Housing Authority. The goal for the Paradise site is to change the overall ambience, fostering a strong sense of community pride.
Chongasing expressed hope for a resurgence of the site as a commercial hub for LEB residents and the neighboring communities of Yellow Cedar, Mount Pleasant, Adventure and Enfield Green. The architectural drawings, featuring recreational and open green space, were designed by Turner and Associates of Atlanta.
Concern for public transportation was raised. The area is about two miles away from private taxi shuttles, but VITRAN bus service is available. Chongasing said he hopes the Public Works Department will expand bus service. The plan includes 24 units for the elderly, federal Section 8-supported rentals, a supermarket and other retail shopping, a day-care center and computer and employment training centers.
Reacting favorably to the presentations, Senator Alicia "Chucky" Hansen reminded Graham and Simmonds of VI legislation addressing set-asides for veterans. "I see that Paradise, that eyesore, will get the lift that's needed and be available for people to live in," she said.
Graham said, "Community and supportive-service programs have been designed for existing and future residents to provide a continuum of care and to achieve a viable, sustainable mixed-income neighborhood." The total construction cost for the Paradise project is estimated at $29.3 million.
Hansen chided the HFA for losing $15 million in mortgage revenue bonds proposed for housing development. Graham said the bonds were lost because the agency did not utilize the money. "Once you float bonds, you have a three-year period," he said.
Removal of debris from Croixville began in April. Workers in white suits and masks can be seen throwing powdery remains of what once were the walls of the two-story units from the empty steel shells left standing by Hurricane Hugo.
Desi Barnes, who lives and works on an adjacent farm, said she is glad that the Croixville property is being cleared. She and her husband, retired Army veteran Rupert Barnes, have cultivated their five-acre property for more than 13 years. "There is so much garbage, wild dogs and squatters over there. People throw garbage there and sometimes in our gardens," she said. "It is such a relief."
A ground-breaking ceremony for the Croixville project is tentatively scheduled for June 26 or 27, Simmonds said.
One St. Croix resident who declined to be named expressed concern about his prospects as a rental-property owner with the spate of federally and locally subsidized housing units coming onto the market. He is having difficulty keeping his units rented and paying his mortgage, he said, while property taxes and insurance rates are increasing. "Who is helping us?" he asked.
Committee members present at Friday's session were Sens. Carlton Dowe, Alicia Hansen, Emmett Hansen II, David Jones, Norma Pickard-Samuel and Celestino White. Member Lorraine Berry was absent. A motion to accept the proposed plan was approved unanimously.
(Berry said on Monday that she had to attend a wedding that was scheduled before the hearing. In her long Senate career, she said, she has never been absent from committee meetings on issues that need her vote — except for last year when the minority walked out of the Senate chambers on St. Thomas in a protest.)

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