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Aug. 30, 2008 – Senator Louis Patrick Hill expressed deep satisfaction in receiving the support of his Senate colleagues for the development of 179 units of mixed-income housing at the former Warren E. Brown housing site, especially since it has been somewhat delayed pending cooperative agreements between the federally controlled V.I. Housing Authority and the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority.
"I labored for months trying to convince HUD officials to agree to allow the development of vacant housing properties in the Virgin Islands," said Senator Hill. He continued, "Only through personal intervention, by my traveling to Washington and speaking with the HUD Secretary, was I able to erase their skepticism and finally get them to agree to a mixed-income housing project through a cooperative agreement between the two housing agencies."
Hill went on to say that the deal was sealed when HUD Assistant Secretary Orlando Cabrera agreed to visit the territory and saw first hand the need to develop the abandoned housing properties.
Hill said he looks forward to attending the September 17th meeting of the Housing Authority board where the details of the proposal will be announced. "Hopefully, we will see all of the bottlenecks removed, thereby bringing to fruition my vision for the redevelopment of the Warren E. Brown and Donoe sites to provide much needed rental and homeownership opportunities for our residents," he said.