Land-use officials heard a plan Monday morning to develop an acre of Smith Bay into apartments and small businesses.
The land — parcel 19-1-2-4, Estate Smith Bay, numbers 1, 2, and 3 on St. Thomas — is zoned for R-1, low-density residential. Property co-owner Najocki Boyd told a meeting of the Division of Comprehensive and Coastal Zone Planning that rezoning the area to B-3, scattered business, would allow for 28 apartments, a laundromat, a day care center, and offices in six planned buildings. Boyd also sought a zoning variance to allow for small warehouses.
Boyd said he has been approached by numerous would-be renters asking when the apartments and other facilities might be available.
The plan is for the apartments to be long-term rentals, with a few short-term rentals to offset costs. Boyd said he hoped to keep market-rate long-term rental rates low and was considering applying for government subsidies for development of affordable housing.
“Virgin Islands residents are facing higher rental rates, so we’re trying to keep it low. And that’s why we’re trying to incorporate some of those short-term rentals to help ease the burden of that financial strain for residents. We’re trying to keep the rent as low as possible for residents,” Boyd said. “We have an idea to give the residents at the property a discounted rate for those storage units because we know residents need extra storage for their own personal effects.”
The site has no historic ruins and lacks much vegetation that might be habitat for animals like the Virgin Islands tree boa, said attorney Jennifer Jones, who was representing Boyd and other owners.
The development would feature 50 parking spaces — one for each resident and an additional 13 for visitors, Jones said, and be designed in such a way as to minimize visual impact on the area.
Each of the six buildings would have its own sewer systems and cisterns, although discussions were underway with the Water and Power Authority for municipal water as a backup, she said.
The five residential buildings would feature 14 one-bedroom apartments, eight two-bedroom apartments, five three-bedroom apartments, and one four-bedroom apartment. Two of the residential buildings would also have on-site laundry facilities for residents.
Boyd estimated each building would take between a year and 18 months to build, meaning the total construction project could stretch over six years or more.
Territorial Planner Leia LaPlace-Matthew said she would take public comment on the proposed rezoning until Dec. 22 at leia.laplace@dpnr.vi.gov.
