Free house finally finds home
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KANE'OHE — An aging but perfectly usable house has been saved from the wrecking ball after a whirlwind incident that began with a family's offer of the free home being turned down.
Wendy and Tony Akioka had a great deal for the right person: a free house. The catch: It would cost as much as $20,000 to move it.
The couple had outgrown their 900-square-foot redwood home and planned to replace it with something bigger, with construction beginning this month.
But first the three-bedroom, one-bath home that had been their home for eight years had to go.
Their contractor said it wouldn't be cost-effective to reuse the material from the house, but the family was reluctant to tear it down. The house is still in good shape, said Wendy Akioka.
"I really don't want it to go to waste, especially since it's made of redwood, which is really expensive" she said.
Preferring to donate the house to a charitable group, Akioka called Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for low-income people using donations and volunteer labor.
"I believe in what they do," Akioka said. "They help a lot of people."
But Jose Villa, executive director for Honolulu Habitat for Humanity, had to turn down their offer.
The cost of transporting and renovating an old home makes building a new home more reasonable, Villa said. Habitat for Humanity can build a new home for about $60,000 and it likes to give its clients a new building, Villa said.
Stephen Swift, of Resource Recovery, a company that moves and restores old homes, said he would charge about $10,000 to $20,000 to move the Akiokas' house. Homes normally need to be cut in half to move and his service includes putting a house back together and making the necessary repairs.
Villa said his group gets about 10 such offers each year and it hurts to turn them down. But he said he felt obligated to help the Akiokas.
"When I turned them down I felt I was not fulfilling my mission of being a good steward of available community resources," he said. "It really hurts them to demolish a house they think someone else can use."
He forwarded their offer to an estimated 1,000 people via e-mail.
KEY Project, which provides social services and education opportunities to the Windward community, was one of many that responded to the e-mail. John Reppun, coordinator for community development at KEY, said he received the e-mail from someone in the state Department of Human Services. He in turn sent it to the city, thinking the house might help solve a relocation problem in Waiahole Valley.
Many other inquires resulted from Villa's e-mail. The Akiokas thought they had given the home away to another group, but the arrangement fell through.
Finally, the family decided to give the home to Our Family Christian Church, which will use the structure as a recovery house for a 12-step drug and addiction program for transgendered individuals.
"Jill's House" would be set up in memory of Peter "Jill" Seidel, a prostitute with mental problems, addictions and AIDS who died alone in a park from an apparent drug overdose in 2000.
But the church has a few hurdles to clear before it can set up the program, which will be paid for by the Jill Seidel Memorial Fund, said Barbara Riley, church pastor.
Without land for the home, the church hopes volunteers will help dismantle the house and store it until land is obtained either through a purchase or a donation.
The church was planning the program and preparing grant applications when they learned about the house.
"This opportunity fell into our lap," said Riley, adding that she wants to take advantage of the offer, which will bring the church one step closer to opening the program.
Anyone wishing to help can contact the church at 672-4196 or mail donations to Jill's Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 700381, Kapolei, HI 96709.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
