Government

With 6,000 Residents on Waiting Lists For Housing, Senators Scold VIHA Executives For Tortoise-like Pace of Development

Legislators were not satisfied that the Virgin Islands Housing Authority on Monday was unable to say when it would complete its current housing projects to offer much-needed accommodations to residents in the territory. VIHA said it had 100 units available for occupancy between St. Thomas and St. Croix and have marked 520 units for demolition. Meanwhile, approximately 800 applicants remain on the public housing waiting list. Overall, there are 6,000 people on various waiting lists, with 1,085 families on the tenant-based waiting list. These families have been waiting since 2021 to be approved for rental properties, while families on other programs have been waiting for five years or more. Robert A. Graham, VIHA executive director, said to members of the Senate Committee on Housing, Transportation and Telecommunications that his agency would be able to repair and lease 97 percent of its units by the third quarter of this year, but when questioned by legislators about an exact complet...