The Virgin Islands Housing Authority (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) has broken ground on an affordable housing senior living project in Sugar Estate (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands). It will have 76 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units, each with living, dining, and kitchen areas.
Features include a community center, a parking garage under the building, laundry facilities, and outdoor gardens. The community center will offer residents a communal living room, a computer learning center and on-site offices for management and social service functions.
The facility, located near a hospital, doctors' offices, and more, will have two buildings, with three floors of living space. The project is a public-private partnership between the V.I. Housing Authority and the Michaels Development Co. The contractor for the project is Prestige Building Co. (Marlton, N.J.), and the architect is Springline Architects (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands). Interstate Realty Management will serve as the property manager
According to the Michaels Development Co., financing for the development includes $26.6 million in equity raised by the sale of 9 percent federal low income housing tax credits allocated by the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority; Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority Territory funds, Virgin Island Housing Authority disposition proceeds, and a New York Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program award. The tax credits were syndicated by Prestige Affordable Housing Equity Partners LLC, with Boston Financial and Mass Mutual as the primary investors. Red Capital is the construction lender.
