A public hearing for a proposed 80-unit housing development on 11 acres in Estate St. Joseph and Rosendahl on St. Thomas is scheduled for March 24.
The application for a Planned Area Development on two steeply sloping parcels on the island’s North Side overlooking Magens Bay, currently zoned R-2, or residential low density, would include 64 townhouses — 28 units at 20-feet and 36 units at 24-feet — and 16 single-family detached homes for sale, according to documents submitted to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Comprehensive and Coastal Zone Planning.
Twenty-eight of the units will offer affordable housing in collaboration with the V.I. Housing Finance Authority and Enterprise Community Partners, according to a letter from Ajani Corneiro, CEO of A.C. Development, to Senate President Milton Potter regarding the proposed zoning change.
“Additional affordable units can become available with support with public and government entities,” Corneiro added in bold print, with the word “can” underlined for emphasis.
According to the letter, the rezoning and development — billed as The Residences at 340 North — “is essential to meeting the pressing demand for housing, particularly for middle-income families who have limited options. This development will inject much-needed inventory into the St. Thomas market, supporting the island’s growth and addressing its urgent housing needs.”
It also will be the first on the island to use Insulated Concrete Forms, or ICF construction, said Corneiro, which will “reduce construction time through ease of installation, increasing productivity and resulting in significant cost savings.” Additionally, ICF construction “enhances energy efficiency, durability and disaster resilience,” the letter states.
The 28 affordable housing units are being made possible through a V.I. Housing Ecosystem Grant from Enterprise Community Partners, one of the largest nonprofit housing developers in the country, said Corneiro. According to the company’s website, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is among its supporters, including a $65 million donation in November to help find solutions to the nation’s housing affordability crisis.
“Economically, this project represents over $30 million in direct investment, creating jobs and stimulating local industries. Beyond direct employment, the project will benefit local suppliers, contractors, and service providers,” while expanding the local tax base and boosting government revenue, according to Corneiro, whose articles of incorporation show the company was formed in 2021 in the USVI and lists its address as 4-58 Tabor and Harmony on St. Thomas.
Among the documents submitted to DPNR’s Division of Comprehensive and Coastal Zone Planning as part of A.C. Development’s application are environmental and cultural resources assessments, which recorded no areas of concern that would raise any objections to the proposed subdivision.
The cultural survey concluded that a partially collapsed “dry laid rubble wall” found on one of the parcels “appears as if this was an enclosure for cattle or perhaps an enclosure for horticultural pursuits to keep cattle out.” While it is not considered to meet the criteria of eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places, “the remains of the stone enclosure are, however, considered to be significant to the history of the archaeology of the USVI as it is a constructed feature likely associated with cattle farming and/or agricultural/horticultural pursuits during the colonial period,” according to the report by CocoSol International Inc. of Miami, Florida. As such, the wall will be preserved as part of the development’s park/garden area.
A review of the archaeological site files by the V.I. State Historic Preservation Office, to determine whether any cultural resources of record were listed in their database for the two parcels in question — recorded as 4I and 4J Rem, Estate St. Joseph and Rosendahl — did not indicate anything of significance, including any settlements or buildings during the 18th and 19th centuries, according to the report.
A refuse dump “consisting of numerous bottles and kitchen utensils” was found on the inside corner of the rubble wall and on top of the wall, with bottles dating to the mid 20th century save for one “dark green case bottle” likely dating to the 19th century, but there is no indication of a house site or other cultural features, the report stated. “The refuse may have been dumped at this location as part of lot clearing activities for the nearby houses built since 1955,” it said.
An environmental impact report by Bioimpact Inc. noted “that the absence of precolonial and colonial settlements, and/or homesteads on the subject property is attributable to [its] very steep sloping topography.”
As for the refuse dump, Bioimpact said it appears to be “a modern site intrusion event” from the construction of nearby houses.
Endangered species surveys conducted in December, including in the evening, found a single Puerto Rican Racer, anoles, an abundance of ground lizards and Ameiva lizards, but not any Virgin Islands tree boas, according to Bioimpact’s report.
It describes the property as “heavily vegetated with a well-developed canopy and understory” featuring water mampoos, black mampoos, turpentines and a single large tamarind among the bigger trees, and abundant tyre palms and wild pineapples that made moving through the understory a challenge.
Despite finding no tree boas during its surveys, the development “will be preserving large areas of forest” which can be used as habitat for the endangered snake, and “hand clearing of areas prior to the development will need to be done in the direction of the areas of undisturbed forest to allow the Boa to move towards safe areas,” Bioimpact reported.
It also found that the parcels are in “Flood Zone X where 100 yr coast flooding is not expected,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Flood Insurance Rate Map 27 of April 2007.
“There are three defined drainage ways within the property. One is within what will become the park/garden area, one is located in the center of the property and a large section of it will be preserved as part of the drainage area,” according to Bioimpact.
As for the “human environment,” the firm reported that the parcels “lie within an area of residential development of single-family homes. The project will be introducing attached residential units and a higher density than currently exists.”
The public hearing at 11 a.m. on March 24 will be held virtually via Teams. To join, click here.
Meeting ID: 282 047 735 321, Passcode: kz6Qa9ih
Dial in by phone, +1 939-236-6758, Phone conference ID: 762 281 322#
Join on a video conferencing device, Tenant key:Â 855297178@t.plcm.vc, Video ID: 116 810 367 8
A public comment period will also follow the public hearing and will end on Monday, March 31.
For more information, email Territorial Planner Leia LaPlace-Matthew at leia.laplace@dpnr.vi.gov.
