74 + REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

Federal contribution which amounts to about $2 for each $1 derived
from rentals.
 Turnover in public housing is very low. This is easily understood
 when it is considered that rentals are as low as they are in the Virgin
 Islands projects. Because of this small turnover and the absence of
 adequate housing on the private market, the waiting list of applicants
 is ever increasing on both islands. It is feared that even with the com-
 pletion of the projects now in the development stage there will be little
 change in the seriousness of the housing shortage, inasmuch as the new
 projects will be used in part as relocation facilities for families
 presently living in the proposed urban renewal areas. The problem
 of inadequate housing would be :aL:'.,::ih.,l by effective closing or
 demolition of buildings which are in such poor condition as to be
 considered hazards.

 The Public Housing Program
 The Oswald E. Harris Court, a 300-unit development on the Island
 of St. Thomas, is considerably behind schedule and according to
 present estimate will not be completed before the end of the calendar
 year 1962. Approximately 25 percent of the units in this project will
 be reserved as a relocation facility for families living in the Barracks
 Yard Urban Renewal area. At least another 12 percent will be re-
 quired for the transfer of families residing in the Berg Homes and
 Pearson Gardens whose size require larger apartments.
 The Ralph de Chabert Place, a 264-unit development on the Island
 of St. Croix, is scheduled to be completed and ready for occupancy by
 January 1963. Slightly over 30 percent of the units in this project
 will be required for the families living in the Water Gut Urban Re-
 newal area and about 10 percent of the remaining units will be re-
 quired for the transfer of families living in public housing.
 The Authority is planning for four new projects with a total of 480
 units, all of which should enter the construction stage during the
 calendar year 1963. Planning work is proceeding rapidly on three of
 the four projects. The fourth project, which will be comprised of 168
 units, is to be located in the Lindbergh Bay Area on the island of St.
 Thomas.
 At the request of the Governor, the chairman and executive director
 of the Authority, together with the regional director of the Public
 Housing Administration, made a study of the housing conditions in
 the various villages operated by the Virgin Islands Corporation for its
 field workers on the Island of St. Croix. The purpose of this inves-
 tigation was to determine whether it would be feasible to effect exten-
sive renovation to the structures being used to house the families of