A historic Frederiksted property will soon be home to an “Agro and Food Innovation Center.”
The Enterprise Zone Commission — an arm of the V.I. Economic Development Authority meant to spur economic growth through tax incentives and other benefits — authorized EDA Chief Executive Officer Wayne Biggs Jr. to negotiate purchasing the property, located at 53A and B King Street in Frederiksted, after taking a poll vote during an emergency meeting on Nov. 4.
The EZC ratified that vote on Thursday after Biggs said the authority successfully purchased the building for $800,000, which was $100,000 below the listed price. Biggs said they expect to close on the purchase by Dec. 20. Biggs said the center will function as a combination food processing facility and kitchen.
Lawmakers appropriated $400,000 for the EDA to develop the center during a session in September and tasked an additional $675,000 toward developing an “Agro and Food Technology Center” at the Evelyn Marcelli Complex on St. Thomas. The funds were appropriated from the combined $137.5 million the territory received through settlement agreements with financier Leon Black and the estate of Jeffrey Epstein.
The ratification came after the Economic Development Authority considered an application from the developers of the five-story, 126-room Hampton by Hilton Hotel in Havensight.
Haven Development principal Shaun Miller and attorney Erika Kellerhals appeared before the board to defend an application for the EDA’s Hotel Redevelopment Program, which provides financial assistance and other incentives for territory hotels. The developers also applied for authorization to impose an Economic Recovery Fee, which assists hotels with development financing by allowing them to add a charge of up to 7.5 percent to guests’ bills.
Government officials and developers broke ground on the hotel in October 2023, celebrating St. Thomas’s first brand-new hotel in decades. Developers applied to the Economic Development Commission for tax incentives the following month. During a December 2023 decision meeting, the commission unanimously approved 100 percent of the incentives authorized by law for a 20-year period.
Following the presentation from Haven Development, the EDC considered new applications from financial services company First Antilles Capital and business management and consulting firm SK Venture Group, respectively.
The EDC later entered into executive session to discuss three noncompliance matters. Afterward, the commission accepted staff findings that financial consultant Greenleaf VI II and International and Capital Management Company were not in compliance with a handful of conditions and requirements.
