Capital Projects

Public-private partnering is central to RTPark’s mission and mandate, and thus it is appropriate that RTPark derives its operating funding both from commercial revenues, as well as from appropriations by the USVI government to a diminishing degree. RTPark’s capital funding currently consists of USVI grants and pending federal funding, in addition to lands set aside for RTPark through Act 6502 in 2002. RTPark also secured a long term lease on a 10-acre parcel on the UVI St. Croix campus in 2003.

USVI capital grant funds were first awarded in July, 2006. Specifically, $7 million administered by the USVI Public Finance Authority were programmed in Act 6856 (Bill 26-0251) for use in connection with RTPark’s “Phase 1 Capital Development” plan adopted by the RTPark Board (Act 6856 was based in part on earlier Acts 6820, 6816 and 6587). RTPark’s Phase 1 Capital Development plan supports our economic development mission and comprises three primary components:

A. Connectivity and collocation data center space associated with the USVI’s global sub-sea fiber carriers, Global Crossing and AT&T.
The RTPark Board set aside up to one half of the Act 6856 funds for this component. In May, 2007, RTPark executed long term agreements with Global Crossing for indefeasible rights of use (IRUs) for both connectivity and collocation, and added AT&T in 2010. RTPark also established separate branding, “64 West,” to provide a home for carrier-neutral connectivity and collocation for private sector tenants and local service providers, and in the process became the largest aggregator of carrier-neutral connectivity in the USVI, with the added benefit of new private sector capital investment commitments from strategic partners associated with 64 West.

B. A building project on St. Croix.
The remaining Act 6856 funds are earmarked for this component, which incorporates sustainable design techniques and utilizes technology park concepts used successfully in over 200 North American communities to help businesses leverage academic and workforce development resources. Beginning in 2006, project management (ARAMARK) and architectural/engineering (Architectural Alliance) firms were contracted to oversee Schematic Design, Design Development and Construction Document phases of a 18,000+ square foot LEED-certified building project on the 10-acre UVI campus site. The U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration has also awarded $5.5 million in federal grant funding specifically for the project, primarily in response to the innovative “green” initiatives incorporated into the project’s design. Construction bids were first solicited in late 2009 with no award, and again in May 2011 with an award pending to Aireko.  In July, 2011, the RTPark Board authorized construction of the project beginning in September, 2011, and RTPark is working to identify approximately $2 million in supplemental capital funds required to meet the project’s expected cost.

C. A robust mesh “enterprise network” establishing connections between RTPark sites on St. Croix and St. Thomas and to the sub-sea fiber carriers.
Incremental progress has been made on this component throughout RTPark’s history. commencing with an application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for supplemental loan funding in 2003 (subsequently revised in 2006). The federal broadband broadband stimulus program announced in 2009 superseded RUS’s past programs and attracted private and public sector applications aligned to the fulfillment of this component.  The VI Next Generation Network, or viNGN, received a significant federal grant, and beginning in 2011 is initiating build out of an open access “middle-mile” fiber network throughout the USVI.

RTPark’s Phase 1 Capital Development plan is directly aligned to our public-private partnering mission, allowing IT-driven businesses to focus on what they do best while leveraging RTPark’s operational facilities, telecommunications infrastructure, and university affiliation.

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