VIHFA Congratulates VIHA on Ground-breaking of Historic Donoe Redevelopment, partially funded by CDBG-DR and LIHTC

January 15, 2021

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – The Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA) congratulates its sister agency the Virgin Islands Housing Authority on the ground-breaking of its historic redevelopment of the Estate Donoe Housing Community in St. Thomas.

As the state housing credit agency for the Territory, the VIHFA is pleased to have allocated Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) at a value of nearly $27 million for the Donoe project. VIHFA also administers the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program, which has committed $29 million of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds in support of the redevelopment.

VIHFA Executive Director Daryl Griffith expresses his best wishes to VIHA on the start of the Donoe project. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, management, and staff of the VIHFA, I congratulate VI Housing Authority and all the parties involved in bringing this Donoe Redevelopment project to fruition. None of this would be possible without the vision, foresight, and tenacity of the hard-working team at VIHA under the capable leadership of Executive Director Graham and Chief Operating Officer Pelle.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Estate Donoe will offer 84 spacious 1-3-bedroom apartments in 14 buildings set among 10.6 landscaped acres.  Former residents of Estate Tutu and Donoe—which were damaged during Hurricane Irma & Maria in 2017 and Marilyn in 1995, respectively—will be given the first opportunity to occupy the new apartments when completed in December 2022.

Plans incorporate sustainable design standards and local architectural influences which ensure that, upon its completion, Donoe Redevelopment will be resilient in the event of a major storm. The project also includes on-site turbine generators which will allow the community to have a back-up power supply independent of its built-in off-grid solar photovoltaic power generation system.