Officials from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department and the Virgin Islands Housing Authority spent the last few days touring the territory's public housing communities.
Deputy Assistant HUD Secretary Gloria Cousar, along with officials from HUD and the V.I. Housing Authority, visited the Tutu Hi-Rise and the Donoe Apartments Thursday. On Saturday, the group visited the Louis E. Brown Villas on St. Croix. Delegate to Congress Donna Christian-Christensen also took part in the tour.
The Brown Villas were badly damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and again when Hurricane Marilyn hit in 1995. According to the Virgin Islands Independent, the V.I. government is bidding for a $25 million HUD grant which would enable it to demolish the 436 units and replace them with a mixed-income community of 291 single-family homes and townhouses. Repairs are also slated to take place at the Tutu-Hi Rise and the Donoe Apartments are set to be demolished.
Sen. Lorraine Berry released a prepared statement referring to a June 3 letter she wrote to HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, urging him to conduct a tour of the V.I. public housing community.
"There are times in which federal officials may be persuaded to see the viability of a proposed housing project by an on-site inspection, especially one that reveals a severely distressed, blighted, unsafe area, crying for attention," Berry wrote.