Seniors aged 62 and older who are interested in a new public housing development are being encouraged to add their names to the Section 8 housing choice voucher waiting list so that, come December, they might be selected to live in the Louis E. Brown housing development on St. Croix.
Robert Graham, V.I. Housing Authority executive director, said maybe a couple dozen applications are in already for the 40 new units slated to come available for seniors only in December and January.
Graham also said that, despite a few challenges, a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the second phase of the development was still slated for Dec. 18.
He added that VIHA was still projecting that some seniors would be able to move into the first floor of the new building that day, and that the remaining units would come available in January.
“There is a tremendous need for senior housing,” Graham said. “Because of the demographics (baby boomers entering their golden years) driving that age group across the country, in the territory we expect it to grow much like that on the mainland, and we need to have different levels of senior housing, from the housing needs for seniors who are individuals and are independent to those that need assistance in their daily activities.”
Graham added that the new Louis E. Brown complex is for seniors who are independent and that the territory needs more housing for those that require different levels of care.
He said following the completion of the Brown development, VIHA would be working with the V.I. Housing Finance Authority and the Department of Human Services to look at “specific demand for different levels of senior housing in the territory.”
“We will definitely be planning additional housing,” Graham said. “But this is a tremendous effort for St. Croix because all of our public housing there is old and we only have two units (Whim Gardens and Joseph E. James) solely dedicated for seniors. Combined those are only approximately 130 units, so there is a need on St. Croix to make sure we reach the goal of supplying adequate housing for seniors.”
He said an 80-unit property was already in the design phase for a location near the Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.
The 40 senior units as part of phase two of Louis E. Brown will join the 102 family units already completed in phase one and the 102 family units that will come in phase three. He added that one of the nice features of the new facility is that many things in it “speak toward energy conservation.”
For instance, besides energy star appliances, a solar array is being installed to power the common areas, which include a media room for viewing movies, an exercise facility and eventually a computer component. Graham said VIHA was also working on a community garden design.
He said the new site had two new bus stops constructed so its tenants will have access to public transportation. Graham said one of the biggest challenges in any senior site is ensuring residents have access to services or access to transportation to get them to those services. He said that’s challenging on St. Croix because both Christiansted and Frederiksted are on almost opposite ends of “that big island.”
“We’ve done a very good job of working with the Department of Human Services to insure there are services onsite for residents,” he said. “So it’s making sure the services are there and the access to transportation is there as well.”
As for how the process works after potential applicants submit an application to the waiting list, Graham said individuals would be called based on the date and timestamp on their applications. He said they’d then need to be screened for having the proper income levels and age requirements, and that once all that was complete and they were approved, then a lease would be executed.
Interested seniors at least 62 years old are encouraged to apply – “the sooner the better,” Graham said – at either phase one of the Louis E. Brown housing development, which is located just off the Melvin Evans Highway east of Frederiksted, or at either of VIHA’s offices on St. Croix and St. Thomas. Seniors can call (340) 778-8442 in St. Croix or (340) 714-0174 in St. Thomas.
