Seven years after a catastrophic storm season left hundreds of V.I. residents seeking shelter from their damaged homes, agencies tasked with helping them had limited progress reports for lawmakers. Officials from the Housing Finance Authority and the Office of Disaster Recovery testified before the 35th Legislature Committee on Housing, Transportation, and Telecommunications Wednesday to share updates on a continuing recovery effort.
Eugene Jones, executive director of the Housing Finance Authority, and Adrienne Octalien-Williams, director of the Office of Disaster Recovery, led the presentations to the committee. Jones told lawmakers that the territory currently has no stock of temporary emergency housing. Despite granting extensions and making referrals over the past 18 months, all tenants currently residing in emergency housing are ineligible to stay and have declined relocation, the executive director said.
The tenants’ refusal to relocate will hinder Housing Finance from offering emergency housing to anyone needing help in the future, Jones said.
There was a more optimistic picture when the discussion turned to repairs and reconstruction of damaged homes. With help about 50 contractors, 35 homes have been completed, and 87 more are in the construction phase, Octalien-Williams said.
“This is a much brighter outlook, considering only nine homes were under construction in February of 2024. The needle is moving; another 48 homes are currently in solicitation, and site visits are occurring as we speak,” she said.
A gloomier picture surrounded the prospects for Virgin Islanders who completed online programs designed to help them qualify for mortgages. Of the 494 participants who completed the program, “none have received a home yet,” said Housing Finance Authority Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Berry.
One of the reasons cited was affordability. “Affordability remains a challenge,” Octalien-Williams said.
Jones told lawmakers his agency recently adjusted the financial thresholds for prospective homeowners seeking assistance to meet the rising cost of home buying in the V.I. One of the greatest factors driving those costs up, Jones said, was homeowner’s insurance.
“People continue to run into a basic problem — there are simply not enough affordable housing within the price range that working people can afford,” said Committee Chairman Marvin Blyden.
The problem also extends into the rental market. According to Rentdata.org, the Virgin Islands is listed among the top ten average rents in the U.S., according to a statement issued by the committee after Wednesday’s hearing.
Jones said his agency was planning to hold a stakeholder’s conference to bring contractors, financing representatives, government officials and prospective homeowners together.
“We want to come up with some innovative things that are going to be representative of the territory that’s not been done anywhere else,” the executive director said.
Senators taking part in Wednesday’s hearing included Blyden, Marise C. James, Angel L. Bolques Jr., Samuel Carrion, Donna Frett-Gregory, Ray Fonseca, Diane T. Capehart, Milton E. Potter, Dwayne M. DeGraff, Novelle E. Francis Jr., and Carla J. Joseph.
