St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands — January 27, 2026 — Enterprise Community Partners, in partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY), hosted the Affordable Housing Workshop, convening grant recipients of the U.S. Virgin Islands Housing Ecosystem Development Grants Program (USVI-HEDGP) alongside key housing stakeholders to advance affordable housing solutions across the territory.
Held in St. Thomas, the workshop brought together past and current grantees, government officials, banking representatives, developers, and housing advocates. United by a shared commitment to strengthening the affordable housing ecosystem, participants engaged in meaningful dialogue, exchanged lessons learned, and explored opportunities for collaboration to address the Virgin Islands’ most pressing housing challenges.
Throughout the workshop, grantees and participants emphasized that the housing crisis in the Virgin Islands is shaped by distinct geographic, economic, and historical conditions. High construction and infrastructure costs, lengthy permitting timelines, limited access to financing, and rising insurance premiums continue to constrain housing development. Across conversations, one message was clear: effective, affordable housing solutions must be locally informed, resilient, and flexible enough to respond to island-specific realities.
Funders also played a critical role in the discussion. FHLBNY shared updates on its Affordable Housing Program, highlighting available funding opportunities and underscoring that projects do not need to be shovel-ready to apply. Importantly, predevelopment costs were emphasized as an eligible—and essential—use of funds, particularly in high-cost and capacity-constrained markets like the Virgin Islands.
Innovation, Financing, and Flexibility
A key focus of the workshop was innovation in construction and development practices. USVI-HEDGP grantees and guest panelists discussed alternative building methods designed to address both affordability and climate resilience. Developers shared experiences using materials such as galvanized steel (Gershwain Sprauve, Adrian Realty), insulated concrete forms (ICF) (Ajani Corneiro, AC Development), and hempcrete (Carmen Santiago, Mi Patria Puerto Rico), highlighting how these approaches can help mitigate challenges related to hurricanes, flooding, material costs, and long-term durability across island environments in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Corneiro, of AC Development, noted that alternative construction methods are being explored not only to reduce costs, but also to improve resilience and speed of delivery in hurricane-prone environments. He compared the use of insulated concrete forms (ICF) to building with Legos, explaining that the lighter weight of ICF blocks, approximately 7–8 pounds compared to 30 pounds for traditional cinder blocks, significantly reduces physical labor and accelerates construction timelines. With proper training, he noted, homeowners can construct exterior walls themselves rather than relying on a contractor, enabling a small, trained crew to assemble roughly 200 linear feet of wall in just a few days before pouring the concrete.
These conversations reinforced the importance of pairing innovation with flexible financing, regulatory understanding, and technical assistance to ensure emerging construction methods can be scaled effectively.
Moving Forward Together
The workshop reinforced that no single organization or solution can address the housing crisis alone. Participants called for stronger coordination across sectors, reduced silos, and deeper collaboration among government agencies, developers, community-based organizations, and funders. By sharing lessons learned, aligning resources, and continuing to invest in local capacity, the Virgin Islands can move closer to housing solutions that are affordable, resilient, and rooted in community needs.
For the latest updates on grantees and upcoming activities, please visit us at USVI Housing Ecosystem Development Grants Program webpage.
