Water Island housing bill passed

From the Daily News:

Sixty acres of government land on Water Island can now be used to build homes through the V.I. Housing Finance Authority.

Gov. Charles Turnbull, on Friday, signed into law a bill that transfers 30 percent of 200 acres of real property on Water Island to HFA. The U.S. Interior Department granted the property to the Virgin Islands government in May.

When the bill came before the Senate Committee on Housing, Sports and Veterans Affairs in June, HFA Executive Director Clifford Graham said that the homes to be built on Water Island would be for the upper level of people who qualify for housing assistance - with an annual household income of up to $130,725. The homes, Graham estimated, could be 1,600 square feet and larger.

According to the bill, the governor must conduct a land-use study of the 200 acres and develop a land-use plan. The legislation also appropriates $75,000 from any available funds in the government's treasury in this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, for the study.

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