Affordable housing is inherently challenging on St. John due to extremely limited availability of land, which will naturally increase the cost of land and housing. Before the hurricanes, there was a shortage of housing for low to moderate income households. The significant loss of rental units exacerbated an already restricted rental market. Two affordable housing developments, developed through a public/ private partnership, exist on St. John. Bellevue Village Apartments is located mid-island and Calabash Boom Apartments is on the “southside” of Coral Bay.

Thirty percent of St. John residents spend more than half of their income on housing according to the 2010 census. The overall level of poverty is well above national figures. Combined with increasing housing costs and stagnant employment growth, the difficulty in providing affordable housing options is amplified. Factors affecting the affordability of home ownership and rentals include demand for short-term rental from the tourism industry, limited local workforce for rebuilding, land supply, limited inventory of affordable housing, and the cost of electricity, water and homeowners insurance. The goal of this project is to identify mechanisms to develop more affordable housing and to find opportunities to make homeownership and long-term rentals more affordable. A first step is to understand what the housing needs and desires are by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the current housing stock and land availability, as well as identifying the primary barriers to re/building housing and affordable housing. Strategies to identify incentives for developing affordable housing will be reviewed to determine whether these incentives are sufficient, or if additional public funds will need to be invested to ensure adequate supply of affordable housing. An outreach and education campaign may be necessary to educate developers on the benefits of developing affordable housing. Part of the solution could be helping residents gain legal access to their land by clearing title issues, streamlining estate probate process, as well as reviewing the property tax structure, which may be placing an undue burden on long-term residents.

IMPLEMENTATION STEPS: 1. Analyze housing situation and align incentives 2. Homebuyer education 3. Developer/Construction education – workforce development 4. Address Title Issues and Property Taxes

Key Players: Virgin Island Housing Finance Authority; Love City Strong Alignment: Housing, CPCB RSFs Cost: < $1 Million Timeline: < Three Years