Posted on: Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Agency plans elderly housing in South Maui
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
KIHEI, Maui — Maui County and the nonprofit Hale Maha'olu plan to develop 112 housing units for the elderly in Kihei, with an adult daycare center and other facilities.
It would be Hale Maha'olu's first project in South Maui, one of the state's fastest-growing regions. The agency manages 13 properties in Maui County with a total of more than 900 rental units for low- and moderate-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. With the exception of its Moloka'i housing, which has immediate openings, there are waiting lists 18 to 24 months long at Hale Maha'olu's other sites in Lahaina, Makawao, Kahului and Wailuku, and on Lana'i, said development coordinator Robyne Nishida Nakao.
"Everybody's waiting to hear when we're going to start," she said. "There's a lot of interest, especially with the high rental market. South Maui's elders have had to move to Central Maui and other places, and they want to come home."
Public comment is being sought. Aug. 23 is the deadline to submit comments for a draft environmental assessment of the housing project. Comments should be send to Hale Maha'olu at 200 Hina Ave., Kahului, HI 96732; the Maui Department of Housing and Human Concerns, 200 S. High St., Wailuku, HI 96793; consultant Munekiyo & Hiraga Inc., 305 High St., Suite 104, Wailuku, HI 96793; and the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, 235 S. Beretania St. Suite 702, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Construction of the 'Ehiku elderly housing project, estimated at up to $25 million, will take place in two phases on six acres of county property at the corner of Pi'ilani Highway and East Welakahao Road. The first phase, expected to begin in May, will see development of 54 one-bedroom units, a 12,000-square-foot adult daycare center, and a 2,400-square-foot senior center/community building for social activities and events.
The daycare center is planned to accommodate 70 participants and 12 employees.
Fifty-eight more one-bedroom units will be built in the second phase, along with an adult residential care home for eight residents and two employees.
The housing units will be about 562 square feet, spread among three three-story buildings and five one-story buildings.
The project is receiving federal and state money, with additional support expected from the county and private grants, Nakao said.
Residents who qualify for federal subsidies will pay no more than 30 percent of their income for rent, she said, and others probably will pay in the range of $460 to $500 in monthly rent.
Reach Christie Wilson at (808) 244-4880 or cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.
