Vieques, Puerto Rico
On Vieques the biggest owner is the US government: the Fish & Wildlife Service holds about 17,771 acres of former Navy land, roughly half the island.
7 buildings · 3 with an owner established · 23 sources · 6 tier A · 1 tier B · prepared 2026-10-31
Puerto Rico records title in the Registro de la Propiedad, part of the Department of Justice. The law says the Registry 'es público para quienes tengan interés en conocer el estado jurídico' of a property. It is searched online through Karibe, which needs an account and charges per parcel. A certification costs $15. Property tax is assessed separately by CRIM on 1957-based values. Its parcel viewer did not open for this research, and no bulk owner file is published.
- metro.pr — “'El Servicio es un servicio exclusivamente para uso personal por parte del Usuario, por lo que de ninguna forma el Usuario podrá utilizarlo con fines comerciales' (Términos y Condiciones). Single stated facts are quoted with attribution; no articles are reproduced.”
- elnuevodia.com (GFR Media) — “GFR Media's terms let users view and print content 'solamente para propósitos estrictamente personales y no comerciales'. Single stated facts are quoted with attribution.”
- primerahora.com (GFR Media) — “GFR Media terms: content may be viewed and printed 'solamente para propósitos estrictamente personales y no comerciales'. Single stated facts are quoted with attribution.”
The marquee buildings
The towers that set the tone of the core, and who holds them. A price is the price a document states, on the date it states — not an estimate of what the building is worth now.
| Building | Use | Owner | Owner type | Last price paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vieques National Wildlife Refuge (former Navy ammunition depot and training range) Western and eastern Vieques (former Navy lands) about 17,771 acres (3,100 west, 14,671 east) |
Land | United States of America (Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) FWS says the refuge was 'created by Congress with lands formerly managed by the Navy in 2001 and 2003' and 'consists of approximately 17,771 acres of land (3,100 acres on the west and 14,671 acres on the east)'. It calls it the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the Caribbean. GAO (s6) says the Navy transferred about 3,100 western acres to Interior in April 2001 and about 14,700 eastern acres in April 2003. The act requires Interior to run the 900-acre former live-impact area as a wilderness area with no public access. EPA lists the island on the Superfund National Priorities List, and munitions cleanup is still under way. |
Government | —A |
| Former W Retreat & Spa Vieques Island (closed since Hurricane Maria) Carr. 200, km 3.2, Isabel Segunda (north shore) |
Hotel | VRRRF LLC El Nuevo Día (18 Dec 2023): the former owner, a cryptocurrency investor, 'ya no es dueño de los terrenos del abandonado hotel W en Vieques, pues cedió la propiedad en pago a la corporación VRRRF LLC' to settle a private loan secured on the property. ENDI's English subhead says the property went 'to a company linked to Puente Investments for $9.72 million' (s8). Primera Hora (30 May 2022) says he bought it in early 2022 'con una inversión de $18.3 millones' (s18). ENDI (11 Aug 2026): his $80M suit to recover it from a former business partner, who took it back in December 2023, will stay in limbo until January 2027 (s19). |
Private company | $9.72M 2023-12 Deed in lieu of payment: the land was transferred to VRRRF LLC to settle a private loan secured on the property (El Nuevo Día, 18–19 Dec 2023). AEl Nuevo Día |
| Centro de Salud Familiar Susana Centeno (new Vieques health centre / CDT) Isabel Segunda, Vieques |
Institutional | Not established a paid title search would answer it Wikipedia says the centre 'is administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Health' and that new facilities opened on 26 Sep 2026 (s11). AAFAF's reprint (21 Feb 2023) says the construction contract was signed 'between Caribe Tecno, the municipality of Vieques and the Infrastructure Financing Authority (AFI)', in three phases costing $85.6M, for about 60,000 sq ft. COR3 advanced $10.8M (s20). Metro PR gives the investment as $85M of FEMA and government funds (s12). No source names the holder of title to the site, which would take a Registry search. |
Not established | —B |
| Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) Carr. 200, Barrio Puerto Diablo, Vieques 124 acres; one 4,300 × 75 ft runway |
Civic | Puerto Rico Ports Authority Wikipedia's infobox gives the airport type as Public, with owner 'Puerto Rico Ports Authority'. The article says the airport 'covers an area of 124 acres (50 ha)', with one asphalt runway, 9/27, 4,300 by 75 feet. Vieques Air Link is the hub carrier. |
Government | —A |
| El Fortín Conde de Mirasol (Fuerte de Vieques), Museo de Arte e Historia Isabel Segunda |
Civic | Not established a paid title search would answer it Wikipedia: a fort built in 1845 that 'was restored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture' in 1991. It houses the Vieques Museum of Art and History and the Vieques Historic Archives, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The article does not say who holds title, so no owner is shown. |
Not established | —A |
| Punta Mulas Light (Faro de Vieques) Punta Mulas, north shore, Isabel Segunda |
Civic | Not established a paid title search would answer it Wikipedia: first lit in 1896 and automated in 1949. It was restored in 1992 and 'houses a museum featuring the maritime history of Vieques'. It is listed on the National Register and the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones. The article names no owner. |
Not established | —A |
| Balneario Sun Bay (public beach, Esperanza) Carr. 997, Barrio Puerto Real, Vieques |
Land | Not established the register is open, but this building was not matched AAFAF's reprint (21 Feb 2023): Sun Bay 'is being transferred to the Vieques municipal government through a collaborative agreement with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources'. For the 15-year term the Municipality runs the offices, security, parking, concessionaires and camping. The agreement 'was authorized by the National Park Service and the Land and Water Conservation Fund'. This is a management transfer, and no source opened states who holds title, so the owner is left open. In May 2022 the mayor told Primera Hora: 'Ya firmamos el traspaso, pero nos falta un permiso' (s18). |
Not established | —A |
The core land
The most valuable ground in the city, and what the public record says about it.
Puerto Rico taxes real property on 1957-based values, so the roll is far below market value. CRIM's own estimate for Vieques's FY2024–25 property-tax collections is reproduced in the municipal budget (s17). It shows how small the taxable base is on an island where about half the land is federal and exempt.
Who owns the town
At this scale the significant owner is rarely a trust or a fund: it is one or two local holding companies, a family in its second or third generation, and often the land around the town rather than the buildings in it.
Before 2001 the US Navy held about two-thirds of Vieques, roughly 22,000 acres bought between 1941 and 1950 (Wikipedia, s10). It left the west in 2001 and the east in 2003. EPA (s16) gives the 2001 western split as 3,100 acres to the Department of the Interior, 4,000 acres to the Municipality of Vieques and 800 acres to the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust. The 2003 eastern transfer of about 14,600–14,700 acres all went to Interior. Federal land is therefore still about half the island, held as a wildlife refuge. No private holdings total could be computed, because CRIM's cadastre was unreachable and the Registry is paid per parcel.
| Name | Type | Holdings |
|---|---|---|
| United States of America (Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) 3,100 acres on the west (2001) and 14,671 on the east (2003), per FWS (s5). GAO (s6) confirms the 2001 and 2003 transfers and the 900-acre no-access wilderness at the eastern tip. The Municipality's FY2024–25 budget books $713,945 of 'Ingresos Eventuales' from 'Fish and Wild Life por los Terrenos' (s17). The budget does not name the program; this is most likely a refuge revenue-sharing payment. |
Government | about 17,771 acres (Vieques National Wildlife Refuge)A |
| Municipio de Vieques EPA (s16): in 2001 'the Navy transferred … 4,000 acres to the Municipality of Vieques'. GAO (s6) puts the Municipality's and Conservation Trust's combined share at 'about 5,000 acres', held 'for conservation purposes'. The FY2024–25 budget's planning-office certification (30 Apr 2024) says the Municipality is selling municipal lots, with $825,200 'en varios solares municipales a 100% de la tasación' and two instalment-sale contracts totalling $96,900. The Finance Office budgets $635,490 from land sales and $1,780,055 from its public-nuisance property sale programme (Venta de Estorbos Públicos) (s17). |
Government | 4,000 acres from the Navy (2001), plus municipal lots for saleA |
| Puerto Rico Conservation Trust (Fideicomiso de Conservación de Puerto Rico / Para la Naturaleza) EPA (s16): 800 acres were transferred to the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust in 2001. GAO (s6) describes the transfers to the Municipality and the Trust as being 'for conservation purposes'. |
Institution | 800 acres from the Navy (2001)A |
| Puerto Rico Ports Authority Owner of Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport, per Wikipedia (s13). |
Government | 124-acre airportA |
Who builds the houses
New-home building in this market: the volume, and the firms behind it. Ownership of a builder matters as much as its volume — a private-equity platform and a family firm behave differently.
There is no builder league table for Vieques, and the US Census building-permit files carry no Puerto Rico rows. New housing here is public: Primera Hora (15 Aug 2023) reports that the island's two public-housing complexes, César Coca González and Jardines de Vieques, hold 133 units, full with about 390 residents. About 150 families were living in abandoned structures, including the three-building Terrazas de San Francisco complex. It had been left uninhabitable after financial disputes involving the Municipality, the federal Rural Development Administration and the Corporación para el Desarrollo Futuro de la Isla Nena (CODEFIN). No private homebuilder with a unit count for Vieques was found.
| Name | Type | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Departamento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico (public promoter) 'En estos momentos contemplamos desarrollar 100 unidades de vivienda pública para aumentar el inventario de viviendas asequibles en Vieques'. A developer was still to be selected and HUD approval was needed, with delivery targeted in about two and a half years (Primera Hora, 15 Aug 2023). No later award was found. |
Government | 100 public rental units planned (1–3 bedrooms)A |
| Public housing: Residencial César Coca González and Jardines de Vieques The two residenciales públicos on the island, 'llenas a capacidad a través de unos 390 residentes' (Primera Hora, 15 Aug 2023). The article does not name the title-holding agency. |
Government | 133 existing unitsA |
Commercial landlords
The commercial side, counted separately from housing: who holds the office, retail and industrial floor area.
Vieques has no REIT, listed landlord or office market. Commerce is small hotels, guesthouses and short-term rentals around Isabel Segunda and Esperanza, and none of those owners was established from a filing or register. The one large commercial property is the closed former W resort, whose title is in litigation. The Municipality is itself a commercial operator, through the Sun Bay concessions and the Agri-Cultura Mercado in the former José Gautier Benítez school.
| Name | Type | Holding |
|---|---|---|
| VRRRF LLC Took the property in lieu of payment of a private loan in December 2023 for $9.72M, per El Nuevo Día (s7, s8). Title is contested in an $80M lawsuit still pending in Aug 2026 (s19). |
Private company | Former W Retreat & Spa site (largest hotel on the island; closed since 2017)A El Nuevo Día |
| Municipio de Vieques Runs Sun Bay's concessionaires, parking and camping under the DNER agreement. It received $119,924 from the Department of Agriculture to equip a grocery and coffee shop in the former José Gautier Benítez School (s20). The Department of Housing is putting $3,846,481.73 of CDBG-DR/MIT funds into rehabilitating the J. Gautier Benítez building, 'the current headquarters of various community organizations', with a farmers' market (s21). |
Government | Sun Bay beach concessions (15-year operating agreement); Agri-Cultura MercadoA |
Looked for and not found
Claims this page would have made if a source could be opened. They are left out rather than guessed.
- CRIM roll values and owners for any Vieques parcel. CRIM's Catastro Digital (catastro.crimpr.net) gave no response at all (HTTP 000) on robots.txt, so it was not used. The Registry (Karibe) is paid per finca.
- Title holder of El Fortín Conde de Mirasol and Punta Mulas Light. The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña restored the fort and runs museums there, but no opened source states the owner.
- Who holds title to the Sun Bay beach parcels. The 2023 agreement transfers management for 15 years. A Senate resolution (RCS 90-2021) is described in search results as saying the parcels 'pertenecen al Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales', but its PDF returned 404.
- The Navy's own figures for the 2001 western split (search snippet of NAVFAC's Vieques page: 4,250 acres to the Municipality, 3,050 to Interior, 800 to the Trust). NAVFAC returned 403 on robots.txt, so EPA's 4,000 / 3,100 / 800 is used.
- Whether the Navy still holds any Vieques land (search results mention a retained radar and telecommunications site). Not confirmed from an opened source.
- Owners of smaller hotels (El Blok, Hix Island House, Hacienda Tamarindo) and of the Zafira and Lejos Eco Retreat projects. newsismybusiness.com returns 403, and Caribbean Journal's 2021 Lejos article is behind its CJ Invest paywall.
- The developer for the Department of Housing's planned 100 public units (none named as of Aug 2023).
Sources
- Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria (Ley Núm. 210-2015, según enmendada), Art. 3 — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, Biblioteca Virtual · openA
- Reglamento General para la Aplicación de la Ley Núm. 209-2015 (Reglamento Núm. 8714), Art. 6.1 — Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico · openB
- Ley del Arancel del Registro de la Propiedad (Ley Núm. 91 de 30 de agosto de 1970, rev. 15 Apr 2024), Art. 1 — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, Biblioteca Virtual · openA
- CRIM portal: Servicios (certifications by account) — Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (CRIM) · openA
- Vieques National Wildlife Refuge: home and About Us — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · openA
- Defense Infrastructure: Environmental Cleanup of Former Naval Facilities on Vieques (GAO-07-552R) — U.S. Government Accountability Office via GovInfo · openA
- [Former owner] cede los terrenos del antiguo hotel W de Vieques para saldar una deuda — El Nuevo Día · paidA
- [Former owner] transfers former W Hotel land in Vieques to pay off debt — El Nuevo Día (English) · paidA
- The dispute over the former W hotel in Vieques continues — El Nuevo Día (English) · paidA
- Vieques, Puerto Rico — Wikipedia · openA
- Susana Centeno Hospital — Wikipedia · openA
- Comienza construcción del Centro de Salud de Vieques con una inversión de $85 millones — Metro Puerto Rico · openA
- Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport — Wikipedia · openA
- Fortín Conde de Mirasol — Wikipedia · openA
- Punta Mulas Light — Wikipedia · openA
- Blueprint for Future Vieques Cleanup Proposed (news release, 27 Sep 2007) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (archive) · openA
- Presupuesto Año Fiscal 2024-2025, Municipio de Vieques (incl. CRIM Estimado de Ingresos AF2025) — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, Presupuestos Municipales · openA
- Persiste la esperanza en la Isla Nena — Primera Hora (GFR Media) · openA
- Former W hotel in Vieques faces uncertain future until 2027 — El Nuevo Día (English) · paidA
- Construction contract for Vieques CDT signed; town to operate Sun Bay beach (reprinted from News is my Business) — Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF), 'AAFAF in the News' · openA
- Governor and Secretary of Housing visit Vieques (press release) — Departamento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico · openA
- Inicia plan de construcción de viviendas para personas sin hogar en Vieques — Primera Hora (GFR Media) · openA
- CRIM Catastro Digital (parcel viewer) — Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (CRIM) · blockedC