Posted on: Monday, May 6, 2002
Hawai'i Kai senior housing project to begin
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
HAWAI'I KAI — Construction will begin at the end of the month on the first affordable senior housing in East Honolulu.
Thirty-one units will be built near the post office on Hawai'i Kai Drive by the Hawai'i Intergenerational Community Development Association.
Already, some 150 seniors have put their names on a waiting list for the apartments, said Mike Allison, president of the nonprofit organization that provides housing for disadvantage people.
"Senior housing in Hawai'i Kai is greatly needed," said Charlie Rodgers, Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board chairman. "The fact that it's affordable just makes it that much better to the quality of life for seniors in Hawai'i Kai."
The project was supposed to begin construction about two years ago, but a portion of the land still had to be purchased. The project, which will be built on 12 acres on the site, is being called the Kaluanui Senior Apartments. Eventually, 66 rental units will be built, and work should be completed by the end of the year, Allison said.
The apartments will rent for below-market prices, with one-bedroom units about $400 a month and two-bedroom units from $400 to $700, depending on income qualifications. Applicants must be at least 65.
At the Hawai'i Kai Retirement Community on Kawaihae Street, rents average $3,000 a month, and at Lunalilo Home, an independent-living facility for Native Hawaiians, the rent averages $2,000 a month. At both these residences, seniors get meals and nursing care included in their rentals.
There is a need for senior housing in East Honolulu. According to recent census figures, 13 percent of the residents of Hawai'i Kai are 65 or older. In the area from Kalani Iki to Kuli'ou'ou, the figure is 21 percent; in Kahala, 24 percent.
The graying of East Honolulu has been noticed in recent years by developers who have built or are planning to build more senior-housing complexes in Hawai'i Kai and Kahala.
"There's a strong interest from people in Hawai'i Kai who want to stay there," Allison said. "It's the only affordable project out there, especially for seniors."
