With the words, “I love this project!” Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion presented plans to rebuild the Morris F. deCastro Clinic in Cruz Bay to the St. John community Friday night.
Officials from the Department of Health and Springline Architects, Inc. showed floor plans and designs for a new three-story structure that is part of the Rebuild USVI initiative. For most of the audience members attending the townhall meeting at the Legislative Annex, it was the first time they’d heard that the building was even being considered for reconstruction.
The Morris F. deCastro Clinic, located next to Frank Powell Park within the Cruz Bay Historic District, was built in 1953. The one-story structure seems to have remained intact even through Hurricane Irma in 2017, but Health officials said the building was more severely impacted than it appears.