Lawmakers Approve Rezoning for $14 Million Alva A. Swan Correctional Annex Rebuild

New facility will replace the one destroyed by hurricanes Irma and Maria, expanding from 80 to 207 beds, with plans to relocate neighboring businesses.

Lawmakers have voted to rezone several parcels of land in Estate Nisky, St. Thomas, that will allow the Bureau of Corrections to undertake a $14 million, federally funded replacement project of the Alva A. Swan Correctional Annex. The Annex was destroyed by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

Before moving ahead with the demolition and rebuild, several parcels of land in the Subbase area would need to be rezoned from commercial to public. Territorial Planner Leia LaPlace-Matthew at the Department of Planning and Natural Resources testified before the Committee of the Whole on Monday evening that it is necessary to bring the property to “zoning conformity.” Previously, an 80-bed facility, the new Annex is expected to “increase in building footprint” by encompassing six properties and will expand to become a 207-bed facility.