Home Lands receives land gift

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

A gift of land from a nonprofit foundation has enabled the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to develop 20 homes in Wai'anae for some of its lower-income beneficiaries, with construction to start in about a year.

Technically, the state purchased the 3.3-acre parcel on Plantation Road, paying $1 to the Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation. The purchase for the nominal fee was legally less complicated than an outright gift, said Jeff Watanabe, of the foundation.

The 16-year-old foundation — established by and named for an heir to a Filipino company, the Ayala Corp. — supports programs in Hawai'i and the Philippines that aid disadvantaged children, women and families. The donated site is adjacent to a 14-acre property that the foundation also bought to develop Ke Aka Ho'ona, a self-help housing project of 75 homes built by the families with foundation assistance.

Micah Kane, department director, said the two- and three-bedroom units would be priced between $90,000 and $110,000 and would be targeted for lower-income families.

It is an especially welcome gift, he said, because only 3 percent of the department's land inventory is on O'ahu while about half the 12,000 applicants on the waiting list want homes on this island.

Gov. Linda Lingle said she hopes that the gesture by the foundation serves as a model for other potential collaborative efforts between the Hawaiian Homes Department and the private sector.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.