H. H. Berg Housing Development – St. Thomas VI

Description

“The P. W. A. made an allotment of funds for the erection of low-rent housing in the Virgin Islands sufficient to allow for the development of three such projects. These funds financed the following:

(a) Bassin Triangle erected on a vacant site of 5 acres at Christiansted, St. Croix Island. The site cost $2,000 and was improved with 1-story row houses which provide 54 rooms divided into 30 family-dwelling units. The structures cover about 5 percent of the area of the site and average 10 rooms per acre.

(b) Marley Homes at Frederiksted, St. Croix Island. An undeveloped plot of 17 acres dedicated by the municipality is the site of this development. A series of 1-story row houses provide 70 rooms arranged in 38 family-dwelling units. The structures cover 2 ½ percent of the site area.

(c) H. H. Berg Homes, St. Thomas, St. Thomas Island, utilizes a former slum site of 14 acres dedicated by the municipality. The project provides 106 rooms divided into 58 family-dwelling units. The structures cover 5 ½ percent of the site area and average 10 rooms to the acre.

The 3 developments provide 230 rooms arranged into 126 family-dwelling units. The structures are occupied by natives of the Virgin Islands who pay an average monthly shelter rent of $2.40 a room. September 1, 1937, was the date of first occupancy. All utilities except cisterns are purchased directly by the tenants.

The construction cost of these buildings averaged 21 cents a cubic foot. The total project cost for all three developments, including construction, land, and miscellaneous items, was $220,027, which indicates an average room cost of $957 and a family-dwelling cost of $1,746.”