USVI Economic Development Authority and Bureau of Economic Research outline lending, workforce and infrastructure priorities

CHARLESTOWN, St. Thomas — Leaders from the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority and the Virgin Islands Bureau of Economic Research briefed the Legislature’s Committee on Economic Development and Agriculture on June 9, outlining a portfolio of lending programs, enterprise‑zone work, industrial‑park plans and priorities for economic data.

The USVI Economic Development Authority’s chief executive, Wayne Biggs Jr., said the authority — described in testimony as “the umbrella organization” for the Economic Development Bank, Economic Development Commission, Enterprise Zone Commission and Economic Development Park Corporation — is working across those units to attract investment, support small businesses and expand manufacturing and trade‑zone activity. “The USVI EDA or the Authority ... is the umbrella organization which assumes, integrates, and unifies the functions of the following subsidiary entities,” Biggs said.

The update came as lawmakers pressed EDA and Bureau of Economic Research leaders for more granular numbers and faster reporting. The bureau’s director, Haldane F. Davies, said the bureau is the territory’s principal source of official economic statistics and that the territorial GDP series has been paused pending federal Office of Insular Affairs work to close data gaps. “We will have that conversation [with OIA] and would have a more concrete response with respect to timelines,” Davies said.

Why it matters: EDA programs and the data behind them guide decisions about housing subsidies, workforce development and infrastructure investments. Several programs described by the EDA carry multi‑million‑dollar implications: a federal SSBCI allocation for lending, a territorial gap‑financing program for homebuyers and multimillion dollar grant funding tied to parks and agro‑processing facilities.

Key program and funding details

- SSBCI 2 (U.S. Department of the Treasury): the Economic Development Bank has an overall allotment of $57,865,000; an initial tranche of $18,900,000 was received in February 2023. As of March 31, 2025, EDA reported $8,998,000 expended or committed from that tranche, and a pipeline of applications totaling about $13,719,000. Kelly Thompson Webb, EDA chief financial officer, said indirect/administrative fees from large grants are used to operate those programs and that EDA retains indirect cost recoveries for program operations.

- VI SLICE (territorial gap financing for home buyers): as of 03/31/2025 the program received 74 applications totaling $7,400,000 in requested gap financing with primary‑lender financing of $22,900,000; EDA has approved 54 applications for $5,200,000 in gap financing and closed 47, disbursing $4,700,000 alongside $14,350,000 from primary lenders. EDA reported seven files pending closing largely due to title issues; six of those seven were funded at the time of testimony.

- Enterprise Zone and agro‑processing: the Enterprise Zone Commission (EZC) has completed rejuvenation projects and is advancing an agro‑processing and food innovation center on St. Croix. EDA has entered a contract to purchase the Padilla Building in Frederiksted and reported the EZC secured $2,000,000 in legislative funding for the facility.

- Economic parks and microgrid: the Economic Development Park Corporation operates the Virgin Islands Industrial Park (St. Thomas) and William D. Robuck Industrial Park (St. Croix). Both parks are reported as fully leased; capital improvements and a FEMA negotiation for hurricane repairs are underway. EDA said it is designing a microgrid for the William D. Robuck Industrial Park to lower power costs and attract manufacturing tenants.

Data, staffing and compliance concerns

Bureau of Economic Research director Haldane Davies summarized the bureau’s planned work: updated price and visitor statistics, expanded accommodation categories (hotels and short‑term rentals), a refreshed Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (SEDS), an economic impact model for public projects and a household income/expenditure survey. He said BER is reviewing subscription forecasting software and will meet federal partners about paused GDP production.

Lawmakers repeatedly pressed EDA for performance and financial transparency. Senator Maurice C. James asked whether beneficiaries’ tax payments — the tax revenues generated by companies that receive EDC benefits — could be quantified and used to fund EDA operations. Biggs said EDA brings “new money” into the territory, but that the taxes paid by beneficiaries go to the central government and are not retained by EDA; he estimated beneficiaries pay “millions of dollars in taxes” and said EDA would welcome an agreed percentage of those taxes as a revenue stream to support operations.

Biggs and CFO Kelly Thompson Webb said the authority’s local appropriation has remained at $6.6 million for several years while EDA manages more federal grant funds (EDA reported managing over $85 million in federal grants). Biggs said EDA has 48 full‑time staff, eight vacancies and a growing compliance workload tied to nearly 100 EDC beneficiaries.

Compliance: EDA said it currently has roughly six compliance officers managing dozens of beneficiary files and is developing an online compliance portal; Biggs said the authority would prefer a staffing level that brings each compliance officer to about 10 cases. He also said the agency has contracted additional compliance resources to reduce backlog.

Workforce, inflation and economic signals

BER staff described territory‑level inflation patterns and drivers: Bernisha Leibard, senior project analyst at BER, said transportation and fuel costs have been principal drivers of higher consumer prices on St. John and that price increases for local food items are affected by small‑scale production and distribution costs.

Davies and senators emphasized the need for skilled trades, technology and data analysts to support reconstruction projects and to retain more of the economic value of federal and private projects locally.

What was not decided

No formal legislative actions were taken on policy or funding during the testimony. Lawmakers asked EDA to provide written follow‑up on several items (taxes paid by beneficiaries, updated SSBCI pipeline and VI SLICE closing data). Biggs announced an SSBCI town hall for local lenders and businesses (UVI Great Hall St. Croix and ACC Center St. Thomas) to clarify program participation and pipeline activity.

Ending

EDA and BER both asked for faster allotment timing, fuller staff funding and continued interagency collaboration to implement SEDS objectives, expand industrial and cold‑storage capacity and improve data capacity for economic planning. “We are committed to doing our part,” Davies said. The committee deferred follow‑up materials and signaled interest in a return appearance with updated numbers and the BER’s implementation timeline.