The V.I. Housing Finance Authority has awarded $23.7 million in federal low-income housing tax credits to develop 72 new affordable housing units in Estate Anna’s Hope, according to Government House.
Reliance Housing Foundation and Virgin Islands Housing Management Inc. are partnering to develop the moderate priced rental apartments. Roughly $6 million will flow through local businesses for materials and services purchased directly for this project, Government House said in a news release. The total development cost for the Anna’s Hope project is entirely federally funded.
Reliance Housing and VIHM have also recently partnered to develop 80 affordable housing units on St. Thomas at Grandview Apartments in Estate Donoe and Altona Apartments in Estate Altona, with another 54 units under way in Hospital Ground.
The VIHFA will provide tax credits and a lease for the 6.5 acre site at Estate Anna’s Hope for the development of the community. The Government House statement emphasized the property does not fall within the definition of homestead land in territory.
Homestead land is defined as “a plot or plots of land improved by the building of a house or houses thereon and the production thereon of livestock, agricultural or dairy products or by the production thereon of livestock, or agricultural or dairy products alone, or for the building of a private home or homes.”
With the lease in question, the parcels of land in Estate Anna’s Hope will be utilized exclusively for low- income rental housing, not the sale of houses, homes or farms. This means the provisions in V.I. law governing sale of land for homesteading, priority of purchasers and so forth, do not apply to the development and allocation of these rental properties.
Rental applicants will be required to meet certain financial and background criteria to qualify. For example, applicants must show monthly income equal to a minimum of three times their monthly rental expense and undergo credit screening. Evidence of collections, judgments or late payments may disqualify an applicant.
A background check will also be completed for each applicant and for every occupant in the household who is 18 or older. Evidence of collections, judgments or late payments may disqualify the applicant. A criminal conviction or nolo contendere plea reflecting a crime against persons, property or drug related activity within the past seven years disqualifies the applicant.
The community will have an on-site manager and maintenance technician.
During the construction phase, Government House says it anticipates 150 local construction jobs will be generated over a one-year period.
