Office of Disaster Recovery outlines $24B‑scale rebuilding plan, reports progress and challenges on schools, hospitals and housing

The Office of Disaster Recovery told the Senate Committee on Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure and Planning that the territory’s recovery portfolio has grown substantially and that the agency is focused on accelerating obligations and expenditures while managing workforce, supply‑chain and permitting challenges.

Director Adrienne Williams Octalin said ODR has expanded the recovery program from a 2019 estimate of roughly $8 billion to a much larger program (the testimony described an additional $16 billion in awards, bringing available funding to the tens of billions). She reported $4.1 billion in funds expended to date and said the office is moving large “bundles” of projects under a Rebuild USVI Super Project Management Office (Super PMO) model meant to accelerate complex work.

Major projects and contracting

- St. Thomas Education Bundle (Suffolk CBNA JV): design and selective demolition in progress; construction scheduled to begin in 2026 for some schools. - Charles Howard/Donnna M. Christian Christensen Medical Complex (Consigli/Benton JV): design optimization in progress; construction scheduled to start in December and complete by 2029. - St. Croix North Central horizontal bundle (CUET Infrastructure South Co): includes power, water, wastewater and roads across roughly 28 square miles; construction anticipated to start in 2026…