Controversial Gifft Hill Container Apartment Complex Receives Support After Developers Announce Revised Plans

Lawmakers on Wednesday considered three rezoning requests for infrastructural developments in the St. Thomas-St. John district.

First was Bill 35-0137, a request for a use variance to allow Ari Goldschneider’s company, Gifft Hill Land LLC, to lease individual bedrooms under the “lodging/rooming house” category on a plot of land across from the Gifft Hill School in Cruz Bay, St. John. Goldschneider had originally requested that the Department of Planning and Natural grant him a rezoning from R-2, Residential Low Density to R-4, Residential Medium Density.

That rezoning would have permitted him to construct 6 residential buildings with 74 ensuite bedrooms and communal living spaces in each building. Goldschneider’s original intention was to offer affordable, long-term housing by leasing individual rooms at a monthly rate of $1,500, exclusive of utilities. However, his plan was met with much resistance from residents in the area. According to Territorial Planner Leia LaPlace-Matthew, over 75 community members “expressed opposition and concerns.”

Among the plethora of concerns aired during a public meeting was the opinion that the Gifft Hill location was “not the solution to the present housing situation.” Residents also expressed a fear of “overcrowding the neighborhood” and worried about the development’s impact on the neighboring school. Members of the community also objected to the fact that Mr. Goldschneider intended to use shipping containers, albeit new and unused, to construct the dwellings, saying that they would “detract from the natural beauty” and “become part of the debris blown around in [a] strong storm.” In total, Ms. LaPlace-Matthew listed 47 individual complaints made against the proposal.