The Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority approved two major disaster-recovery actions for St. Thomas: a contract ceiling of $207.36 million for the first two phases of the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital rebuild and a nearly $91 million amendment advancing work across six school-system facilities.
Suffolk Construction Company was selected for the hospital project after three bids were evaluated. The initial phases cover demolition and most construction activity, with any later amendments expected to be comparatively limited once the second phase is complete.
The education funding supports demolition, design and early construction connected to Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, Lockhart K-8, Janie Tuitt Elementary, Yvonne Milliner Bowsky Elementary, Emmanuel Benjamin Oliver School and an administrative center. Officials said design work is 30 to 60 percent complete, with activity at Lockhart and Bowsky expected to begin in September and EBO demolition targeted before year's end.
Project teams also reported that value-engineering revisions reduced anticipated construction costs by an estimated $108.8 million after earlier estimates rose. Both the hospital award and school amendment were approved without opposition.
Publish a simple public dashboard for each facility showing the approved budget, contractor, design percentage, next milestone, schedule changes and dollars spent. Monthly updates would help residents distinguish approvals from completed construction and track whether projected savings hold.
Source published August 28, 2026. Read the original reporting or release for the complete record.
Open original source