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Virgin Islands Housing Authority details repairs, demolitions and voucher shortfalls
Summary
Housing Authority leaders told the Legislature they completed thousands of work orders and are pursuing demolition and redevelopment at multiple sites while the housing choice voucher program remains underfunded; contractors, vacant units and rising construction costs were recurring concerns.
The Virgin Islands Housing Authority told the Legislature on Tuesday that it has ramped up repairs and modernization across the public housing portfolio while preparing to demolish some units in hazardous zones and manage a constrained voucher budget.
At a hearing in front of the House committee on housing, testifying authority staff described an operational push to address interior unit conditions, a demolition plan for units in danger zones, and a shortfall in voucher budget authority that left hundreds of issued vouchers unused.
"We completed about 3,000 work orders for that month," said Edie Alexander, the authority's testifier representing the agency, referencing recent monthly figures. She added that emergency work orders (129) were addressed within 24 hours, with average turnaround times of about 2.3 days in St. Thomas and 5.3 days in St. Croix.
Why it matters: the authority manages more than 2,400 public housing units and a voucher caseload that local officials say is essential to preventing homelessness. At the same time, the authority faces high renovation and construction costs, a tight labor market and limited contractor capacity.
Major details
- Lease-up and vouchers: Akayla Anthony, Housing Choice Voucher program director, said the authority scored 140 out of 140 on the SEMAP inspection but is constrained by budget authority. "We have 749 unused vouchers," Anthony said, explaining that rising rental costs consumed the program's budget authority and limited the number of new households that could be housed. She said project-based unit vacancies are being used to issue a limited number of new vouchers as those units become available.
- Demolitions and relocations: Lydia Pell, chief operating officer, described plans at John F. Kennedy (JFK) housing: "The overall plan is to revitalize the ones that are closer to Pueblo… and 144 units that are in a blast zone will be demolished," Pell said. She added that 42 of those units are currently occupied and will be relocated under formal relocation rules once HUD and other approvals are complete.
- Vacancies and maintenance: Authority staff said the portfolio-wide occupancy is about 92–93 percent, leaving roughly 7 percent of units vacant. Committee members pressed the authority on the number of vacant units in specific sites (Bavoni and others) and on staffing shortages for maintenance trades; the authority said it has about 169 employees against a 200-position budgeted complement and cited nine vacant mechanic positions in St. Thomas.
- Contractors and construction capacity: The authority said it solicited more than 30 contractors for large modernization contracts but found only a small number qualified to bid on million-dollar-plus jobs. Staff said they plan contractor outreach and qualification workshops to expand the pool.
- Major redevelopment and funding: The authority and its partners said they have secured multiple federal and disaster-era funding streams but stressed a funding-versus-need gap. Agency testimony listed obligations from FEMA and CDBG-DR programs and referenced tax-credit deals and 4% tax-exempt bond financing for certain new developments.
What lawmakers asked and told staff
Lawmakers repeatedly pressed the authority for timelines, contractor outreach plans, and clarification on relocation options for families in buildings slated for demolition. Senators asked about site-specific plans (Williams Delight, Ralph DeChabert, Walter Hodge, Dunu/D Hamilton Jackson) and whether replacement housing would be built on the same islands or in different communities. On several occasions staff said final parcel swaps and land transfers are under negotiation and that design work would be moved to replacement parcels once swaps were final.
Bottom lines and next steps
Authority leaders asked the Legislature to support coordination across agencies — HUD, FEMA, the territory's Office of Disaster Recovery, and local public works — to speed environmental reviews, swap land as needed, and expand contractor capacity. They also urged the Legislature to watch near-term budget authority and carryover dollars that affect both public housing management and voucher utilization.
"Our mission remains clear: strengthen communities through safe, affordable housing while empowering residents toward stability," Edie Alexander said in closing.
