Ralph O’Neal Admin Complex to get $4M injection
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has announced that another $4 million was allocated to expedite the Ralph T O’Neal Administration Complex (RTOAC) restoration, now slated for completion in 2025.
Premier Wheatley suggested the funding will help to enhance the building’s functionality.
“The completion of repair works will not only restore the building… but also enhance its functionality and resilience, thereby improving service delivery to the community,” Dr Wheatley said.
The complex, historically housing various government ministries and critical departments, suffered extensive damage during hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Since then, the government has been renting private office spaces to accommodate displaced public servants, incurring significant expenses. In 2018, the Central Statistics Office estimated the government’s annual rent expenditure at approximately $6.4 million, a figure noted in the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report.
Premier Wheatley emphasised the financial benefits of completing the RTOAC repairs, stating that it would reduce the amount spent on rent and allow these funds to be redirected to service other needs. He acknowledged that the restoration process has been protracted, noting in 2022 that the project was taking too long and required acceleration.
The ongoing delays have prompted concerns among lawmakers. Second District Representative Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull expressed frustration over the prolonged unavailability of the complex, highlighting the financial and operational inefficiencies caused by the delay. He argued that the government is “paying monies left, right, centre, up, down, and between in rent” while the building remains unoccupied.
In February 2024, Premier Wheatley informed lawmakers that the government currently spends over $10 million to accommodate public servants at various offices. He estimated that the reopening of the RTOAC could lead to a rent decrease of $2 million. However, he noted that lease payments are fluid, and the decision on which offices will return to the complex has not yet been finalised.
Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn expressed concern about leasing the government’s office spaces earlier this year. Despite $5 million being earmarked for repairs to the complex, this money was instead returned to the treasury without any progress on the project.
The restoration of the complex began in late 2019, with initial efforts focused on debris removal and roof repairs.
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So where is the account on the expenditure of the $11M received from insurance?
Now we are adding another $4M?……..Show me where $11M worth of work took place at the Admin Complex first.
My fellow Virgin Islanders we have to rise up against Natalio Wheatley. This man is a cri**nal. There is no accontability for the millions of dollars from the insurance company, and now this inc***etent f**l is allocating $4 million to complete repairs on the building. Where is he getting his figures from? Is there a project management team, who is assessing the progress and expenditures of funds? Oh, I see. Natalio is the Project Manager, Assessor, Treasurer and everything in between. We are in big trouble God save us.
The design of the building, coupled with its location, will continue to be an accident waiting to happen in the event of a hurricane.
Try multiplying that by 5. That place will cost $20mil all in by the time they are finished. They were better off building a new structure.
8 years to repair a simple building where main infrastructure was unscathed!!! The windows/roof were damaged, along with the entire interior. The concrete structure remained intact. Why is it taking 8 years to repair? Do you know how many buildings were built on Tortola since Irma?
The next storm surge from a category 4 or 5+ hurricane eye within 20 miles of the the BVI will flood the CAB and severely damage it again. Maybe then this resurrected Central Administration Building will be removed to become a car park.
7+ years later……just some windows replaced on the external building envelope and the construction of the elevator. Now has anyone ventured inside that eyesore? $4 mill will not go very far in realizing a safe return in that building before 2030!
The aircon system has to be procured and installed. Electrical system needs to be revised as well as internal partition walls etc. Some furniture’s will also need to be paid for. The entire structure will also require thorough sanitization from mold and other contaminants.
The Spreemier has NOT illustrated a viable roadmap to reducing rental expenditure and having the departments moved back to RTOAC! That budget speech was hot air and little substance. Another illustration of the lack of sound business acumen and forward planning by him and his rookie government! Past fedup of this never-ending bad cartoon we seem stuck in.
Thats not just an injection, that’s an overdose.
Given the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes and factoring storm surge. why would any insurance company insure a critical government building less than 500 feet from the sea and 0 elevation above sea level.
Because they stupid. Only N***** would do that for the money.
this something you should be yapping on , but since you had SQUANDERED couple hundred thousands when you were in the HOA / you
won’t want to open your flaps on it / but you prefer to holler out COI DID THIS AND DID THAT , AND LEAVING OUT WHO OR WHAT CAUSED
THE COI , OR WHO BEGGED FOR THE COI , WHICH BACKFIRED ON HIM AND HIS CLANDISTINE OPERATIONS LIKE CORRUPTION AND RODEO GAMES ETC YET YOU HERD SINGING LIKE BROKEN DOWN RECORD ON , THE ONE MAN COI AND NOT WHAT WAS DISCOVERED BY HIM AND IF ITS TRUE OR FALSE / IIGLY PEOPLE ALWAYS WANT TO BE IN THINGS , AND YOU ARE A TYPICAL EXAMPLE – MORE POWER TO YOU , O THOU WIGGED ONE
Independence them say
The admin building is a fine example of a white elephant. It was badly designed and badly sited. Fancy (and unnecessary) water features created conditions ripe for mold issues of which there were plenty after the building opened. A lot was spent remediating it (while members of govt were happy to rent commercial properties to govt in the interim). There is also the issue of having elevators (on a two story building) which cost a small fortune to maintain, and eventually failed after Irma. The budget for that alone exceeded $ 1 million. Why elevators are a priority over roofs and windows remains unclear.
Irma caused a lot of damage for sure but it took until 2019 to get around to fixing the roofs and cleaning up debris. Two years! A diligent building owner would have acted faster to protect from two years of rain ingress. Absolute madness to read that $ 5 mil was budgeted for repairs in 2023 but was returned. Evidently, powers that be don’t seem to care.
Based on the article, govt spent $ 6.4 million in rent in 2018 and $ 10 mill in 2024. The article does not state what it spent between 2019 and 2023. If you go with an average of $ 8 million per year, then the total govt spent on rent from 2018-2024 works out $56.4 million! Note that an average govt rent of $ 8 mill per year, works out to about $1,000 in rent per employee.
Also, this piece alleges that by spending the money to fix the admin building it will save $ 2 million in rent. That’s only about 25-30% of its rental expenditures. Surely there’s a more cost effective way to handle govt office needs.
reallly.. all those million could of long build couple building chisttttt!!! you all should just use the new high school as a govrnment complex and build two more L shape building for the high school and done!!