Who built the house, villas and structures on Jeffrey Epstein’s islands. Did both islands have houses
Executive summary
Jeffrey Epstein owned two U.S. Virgin Islands — Little Saint James (bought 1998) and Great Saint James (acquired 2016) — and Little St. James was the more developed site with a main compound, multiple guest villas, pools, a helipad and specialised rooms such as a library and a Japanese bathhouse; news reporting and property records attribute renovations and expansions to Epstein during the 2000s, including a major renovation by designer Edward Tuttle, while Great St. James remained largely undeveloped though Epstein drew up development plans [1] [2] [3]. House Oversight Committee photos released in December 2025 show interior and exterior views of Little St. James and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice provided the materials to Congress [4] [5].
1. Who owned and therefore commissioned the buildings: Epstein’s ownership and purchases
Legal and reporting records show Epstein’s ownership through entities: Little St. James was purchased in 1998 by L.S.J. LLC, whose sole member was Jeffrey Epstein, and Great St. James was acquired later , establishing Epstein as the owner who commissioned site improvements and buildings [3] [1]. Reporting on the sale after Epstein’s death confirms his control of both islands until they were sold to Stephen Deckoff in 2023 [6] [7].
2. What was built on Little St. James and who did the design/renovation work
Little St. James was the clearly developed estate: a main compound that was expanded in the 2000s; multiple guest villas; two pools; a helipad; tennis courts; a gym; a library; a Japanese bathhouse; a movie theatre; and unusual interior features documented by investigators and the press [2] [8]. Public reporting and the Little Saint James summary note a renovation of the main house by Edward Tuttle, an architect/designer known for Aman Resorts, and that Epstein installed island infrastructure like a dedicated power and fiber link in 2005 [3].
3. Great St. James: plans versus built reality
Great St. James was acquired later and remained far less built-out. Epstein publicly drew up plans to develop homes, an amphitheatre and unique features such as an “underwater office and pool,” but multiple sources say Great St. James was largely undeveloped and that some historic structures had been razed to clear land for proposed construction [1] [9]. Available sources do not mention detailed lists of buildings actually completed on Great St. James beyond descriptions of it as “largely untouched” [1].
4. Visual evidence and official documentation: what recently released photos show
In December 2025, House Oversight Committee Democrats released photos and video taken by U.S. Virgin Islands authorities in 2020 that depict interior rooms, bedrooms, a dentist’s chair room, a blackboard and exterior shots of Little St. James; the Department of Justice for the U.S. Virgin Islands provided the materials [4] [5]. Coverage across major outlets framed the images as corroborating the island’s extensive built environment while offering little new factual revelation beyond visual confirmation of the interiors and compound layout [10] [11].
5. Who actually built the structures — contractors and crews
Reporting notes Epstein ran an extensive renovation and had island staff (70 staff reported in one account) and that he hired local utilities and contractors for infrastructure — for example, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority installed a power/fiber connection in 2005 — but the publicly available sources in this set do not provide a comprehensive roster of individual architects, contractors or construction firms beyond the mention of Edward Tuttle and the power authority [3]. Therefore: available sources do not mention a full list of construction contractors or crews responsible for every villa and outbuilding.
6. Post-Epstein ownership and redevelopment promises
Stephen Deckoff purchased both islands in 2023 with stated intentions to redevelop them as a luxury resort; he said he was recruiting architects and engineers, but by mid–2025 reporting was mixed — some sources described early redevelopment activity while others said permit filings and visible construction remained minimal or stalled [7] [12] [13]. Reports note Deckoff planned a 25-room resort but officials and locals indicated in 2025 that no formal permits had been filed or that work was not yet evident [12].
7. Disputes, limitations and what remains unknown
Multiple outlets agree on Epstein’s ownership and the heavy development of Little St. James, but they diverge on the extent of post-sale construction and progress toward a resort [6] [12]. Importantly, the sources available here do not provide exhaustive construction records, subcontractor lists, building permits tied to individual structures, nor a room-by-room builder attribution — those details are not found in current reporting and would require local permitting records or estate documents not included in the cited materials [3] [12].
Summary: Epstein commissioned, owned and substantially expanded Little St. James; he planned but did not fully realize large-scale build-out on Great St. James. Designer Edward Tuttle is named in reporting for renovations; local utilities installed key infrastructure, and recent Congress-released photos confirm the existing villas and interior rooms. Detailed contractor-by-contractor attributions and full permit histories are not contained in the available sources [3] [2] [4].