Modular Housing: A Solution to the Territorial Housing Crisis?
The struggle to find and provide safe,affordable housing in the territory is not just limited to public agencies like the Virgin Islands Housing Authority. The decimation of the U.S.V.I’s housing stock by the 2017 hurricanes plus industry pressures in the years that followed have resulted in high costs for both construction and rental of homes, plus a tight labor market that is choking construction.
2023-03-01 13:01:22 - VI News Staff
“"When is the last time we built 50 homes in a year in the Virgin Islands," Governor Bryan asked during an interview with the Consortium following his January State of the Territory Address.
According to some estimates, building costs in the territory can run between $275 to $400 per square foot, with construction on St. Croix at the low end and St. John topping the scale. By comparison, costs in Puerto Rico run between $150-$180 per square foot, and on the mainland, depending on design, costs can be as low as $100 per square foot for construction.
One reason for the high construction costs in USVI is that apart from stone aggregates, all building materials must be imported. Additionally, masonry structures of the type recommended to withstand hurricanes are more expensive to construct than timber frame buildings of the type commonly seen on the mainland.
The Covid-19 pandemic and resultant shipping bottlenecks have also served to exacerbate elevated construction costs.
Government programs to encourage homeownership have also been slowed to a crawl because of the construction crunch. The EnVision Program, first introduced under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was designed to help homeowners and landlords whose properties were heavily damaged by the 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria, rebuild. It was anticipated that 50 homes per year would be built under the program, a target that has fallen woefully short.
While the issues affecting the housing crisis are clear, Virgin Islanders are still searching for solutions. Could modular housing as an alternative to traditional housing be one option?
Modular or prefabricated homes have parts that are factory-built rather than being constructed entirely at the building location. These parts are then brought to the construction site and put together by the contractor.