EDC Approves Phased Hiring and Benefits Plan for St. Croix Hotel Project After Construction Delays

On Thursday, members of the Economic Development Commission heard a request from a St. Croix hotel developer to grant a more relaxed timeline within which to meet commitments related to hiring and providing employee benefits.

Last July, the VIEDC board approved a 30-year, 100% tax incentive package to Historic Heritage Holdings LLP, the company which plans to construct and operate a boutique hotel on St. Croix. On Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Camila Devlin told EDC commissioners that “over the past two years, our construction timelines have shifted in ways that were not anticipated at the time of approval.”

Construction delays, said Ms. Devlin, “have materially affected our capital planning, staffing projections, and the timing of benefit implementation. The originally approved structure assumes a level of operations readiness that …we simply do not have yet.” As examples of the inordinate delays being experienced, Ms. Devlin noted that the provision of temporary power to one of the buildings is still being awaited over four months since the request was submitted.

Asked to expand on the challenges being experienced, majority owner of Historic Heritage Peter Zielke listed weather and shipping delays as two main factors causing timelines to slip. “From a permitting perspective, we’re actually doing really well,” he said, praising the efficiency of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. However, “overall construction here is a lot of delays that you wouldn’t see elsewhere,” Mr. Zielke concluded.