The V.I. Disaster Recovery Office announced Thursday that a contract awarded to Suffolk Construction to demolish and rebuild the Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix has been executed, kicking off a $3.4 million phase of preconstruction work.
Initial work includes optimizing designs, conducting constructability reviews and performing value engineering, according to a joint press release issued Thursday. Preconstruction is expected to take 12 months and will be completed in tandem with the hospital’s demolition, which is slated to happen some time before 2027.
“Rebuilding the territory’s hospitals remains one of the highest priorities of the recovery, and the execution of this contract signifies a pivotal step forward in this effort,” ODR Director Adrienne Williams-Octalien stated. “The Office of Disaster Recovery looks forward to continued collaboration with all stakeholders to build a state-of-the-art facility that meets current industry standards.”
JFL chief executive Darlene Baptiste, who was recently appointed CEO of Schneider Regional Medical Center amid an administrative consolidation of the territory’s hospitals, said the project “centers on the patients, families, and healthcare professionals who depend on a safe, advanced environment to provide and receive high-quality care.”
“We are proud to move forward in partnership with Suffolk Construction to strengthen and sustain healthcare services for current and future generations,” she stated.
The project’s award to Suffolk came nearly six months after the V.I. Public Finance Authority authorized negotiations with Clark Construction and MCN Build. In January, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said the government was in the “final stages” of contracting, and Willliams-Octalien told the PFA board in February that ODR was “blindsided” when the Clark-MCN joint venture walked away from the negotiating table. According to Williams-Octalien, the contractors had insisted on an arbitration clause which would have allowed them to settle contractual disputes outside of the Virgin Islands.
