New JFL Hospital Design Cut to Five Stories, Officials Pledge Services Intact

ST. CROIX. Plans for the replacement Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital have been redesigned to reduce the building from eight storeys to five, officials announced this week.

The Territorial Hospital Redevelopment Team said the smaller footprint will still accommodate all services originally intended for the new facility. Designers are recovering space by distributing mechanical systems throughout the building rather than dedicating an entire floor to them, while keeping critical equipment within the structure to protect against hurricanes and severe weather.

Updated renderings of the redesigned hospital are expected to be ready by November, when they will be presented to hospital board members.

Executive Director Darryl Smalls told the V.I. Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation that the redevelopment team had revisited plans in response to concerns raised by hospital staff about service delivery and patient experience. "We went back to the drawing board to determine what would be feasible," he said, while cautioning that additional requests must be balanced against keeping the project on schedule.

Work on supporting facilities is advancing. The Cassava Gardens project, which will house administrative staff and cold-storage functions during reconstruction, is nearing substantial completion and awaiting final utility approvals for an occupancy permit. A vendor has been selected to furnish the building, with more details on delivery timelines expected at the board's next meeting.

A separate five-acre parking and storage facility east of the hospital is also progressing, with exterior work and building structure advancing significantly. Officials are targeting substantial completion by approximately October 28.