PFA Approves Over $652 Million in Contracts to Advance Recovery Projects on St. John and St. Croix
On Wednesday, the V.I. Public Finance Authority approved a wide-ranging set of contracts tied to the Office of Disaster Recovery’s new and ongoing rebuilding efforts throughout the territory.
2025-04-24 20:41:57 - VI News Staff
In total, more than $652 million in funding was authorized, covering large-scale construction, infrastructure, design, and engineering projects, as well as professional service contracts.
The meeting began with a project update from ODR Director Adrienne Williams-Octalien, who reminded board members of the long-planned recovery work on St. John. The bundled projects include the reconstruction of the Morris Di Castro Clinic, the Myra Keating Community Health Center, and the Julius E. Sprauve PreK–8 School. A joint venture between Consigli and J. Benton Construction was the only respondent to the request for proposals.
The limited response raised concerns for the project evaluation committee, Ms. Williams-Octalien noted. “Normally, when only one submission is received in response to a solicitation, the request for proposals is re-issued,” she explained. However, based on current industry conditions, rebidding large projects has not resulted in lower costs. “The time factor is of great concern to all the committee members,” she added, emphasizing that all construction must be completed by 2035 to maintain the current cost-sharing waiver approved under the Biden administration.
Williams-Octalien further explained that a nationwide surge in infrastructure work has contributed to a drop in contractor participation. “The overwhelming amount of project work throughout the nation is causing a minimal amount of contractors participating in solicitations everywhere,” she said. No more than three contractors have responded to any of ODR’s solicitations to date. In fact, the Juan F. Luis Hospital project received only one bid on its first solicitation, none on the second, and is now in its third round.
Given the urgency of project timelines and prevailing industry trends, the committee opted to proceed with Consigli/Benton Joint Venture 1, awarding a contract capped at just over $103 million for the first two phases. Phase one—preconstruction services across the three St. John facilities—will span up to 12 months and cost no more than $3 million. Phase two involves “early work packages” with a cost cap of $100 million over an 18-month period.