April 23, 2009 — With a ribbon cutting and ceremonious comments, the V.I. Housing Finance Authority opened six new townhomes by Watergut Thursday. The homes will be offered to lower-income families on advantageous terms.
"It is a privilege to join you today to announce this important initiative, which will enable Virgin Islands families to afford homes in this community," said St. Croix Administrator Pedro Encarnacion. "There is evidence that stable, affordable housing helps people obtain a lifetime dream, advances their health and well-being and is a vital ingredient for the economic vitality of neighborhoods."
The homes are the authority's first affordable housing initiative in the town of Christiansted, said Adrienne Williams, chief operating officer at VIHFA.
Historian Gerard Emanuel spoke briefly about the history of Watergut and the value of promoting homeownership by putting affordable housing into the neighborhood.
Watergut, he said, probably got its name from the German "wassergut," which appeared on early maps during the brief German sovereignty over the islands. There is the large, historical water gut, draining rainwater from the hills outside of Christiansted into the harbor. As recently as the 1960s, the neighborhood was on the outskirts of Christiansted, becoming an integral part only as the town grew, he said.
The area has been home to businesses and shops of all kinds over the years and has well known St. Croix landmarks.
"Its famous well is right over there," Emanuel said. "That was probably a popular spot for women to meet, getting water and washing. Women washed clothes at the well and by the gut. And back then the water in the gut ran clean."
Watergut has been memorialized in a calypso song by the "Mighty Prince Galloway," and possibly was home to kin of U.S. founding father Alexander Hamilton, he said.
"It is alleged, and I'm not saying it's definitely a fact, but it's alleged Alexander Hamilton's older brother lived near here," he said.
With Sens. Sammuel Sanes and Craig Barshinger in the audience at the ceremony, VIHFA Executive Director Clifford Graham put a plug in for the V.I. Government to purchase a rundown apartment building across the street from the new townhouses and dedicate the property for more affordable housing. Doing so would have the double benefit of cleaning up blight and boosting home ownership, he argued.
The six townhomes are divided between two pastel-hued buildings, very similar to affordable housing completed last year in Frederiksted. Each has two-bedroom and two baths, and a base price of $185,000. The land already belonged to the government and most of the cost is for the buildings' construction, Williams said.
"Construction costs have skyrocketed since 9-11," she said. While the base price may be a bit high for lower income families, VIHFA offers both mortgage and down payment assistance to qualified applicants, as well as very low interest rate mortgage loans, effectively reducing the cost of the homes to the point where a steadily employed head of a family with a good credit rating and grasp of finances can make the monthly payments, she said. "To qualify, you have to meet our eligibility requirements and we do a prequalification with all the applicants," she said. "Also, everyone goes through a home buying education course, because we want not just to put people into housing, but we want them to be able to maintain themselves in the home and keep making the payments."
Twenty-five percent of housing is set aside for veterans, so VIHFA is getting the word out through the V.I. National Guard, the American Legion and the Office of Veterans' Affairs, she said.
Further information can be obtained by calling the V.I. Housing Finance Authority office at (340) 772-4432.
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
