Posted on: Monday, September 20, 2004

Aging housing projects get much-needed repairs

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

After pieces of concrete started falling from the roof of the Pumehana Senior Apartment building on Kina'u Street, the state built a covered walkway as a temporary measure to protect people entering or leaving the building.

To address the problem, known as spalling, the state Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i is conducting a three-year, $52 million project using federal money to shore up the concrete not only at Pumehana, but also at 12 other aging federal or state senior and family housing projects that need many types of repairs.

"It has been needed for awhile," Pumehana resident Patricia Jardine said during a project blessing ceremony last week. "It is really dangerous when the cement falls."

Stephanie Aveiro, executive director at HCDCH, said the problem is typical for high-rise buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s.

"All of the buildings of this age all over Honolulu are experiencing the same spalling problems," Aveiro said. "It is not only the state. There are landlords addressing it all over."

Spalling occurs when the steel bars used in reinforced concrete construction begin to corrode and expand, sometimes as much as 14 times the original size. That, in turn, weakens the concrete.

Spalling has been blamed as the cause of structural problems at the Nu'uanu Pagoda, the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki and many of the concrete piers falling apart in state harbors.

After an inspection of its 27 family and senior housing projects statewide, it was determined that five apartment buildings for the elderly and eight family structures needed spalling and other repair work. The work began last year.

Last month the state began a yearlong, $4.7 million restoration of the Kalanihuia Senior Apartments on 'A'ala Street. Kalanihuia, a 16-story, 151-unit building with more than 200 tenants, has provided affordable housing for qualified senior citizens for more than 30 years.

Aveiro said at a time when Hawai'i is experiencing a shortage of low-income housing, it is important to preserve the property that has been built.

"It is one thing to build new and try to meet the shortage of inventory, but if we don't maintain what we already have we are not going to make any progress," she said. "It needs attention and work, and we are going to do that. Then they will last another 35 to 40 years."

Pumehana, built in 1973, has 21 floors and 140 units, mostly studio apartments. The $2.18 million repair project on that building will start next month and take about a year to complete. Stan's Contracting Inc. is the general contractor.

Warren Shioi, president of Stan's, said the company made the same type of repairs for the state last year at the eight-story Salt Lake Apartments.

"We are quite comfortable with what they expect and how we need to do it," Shioi said. "The parapets are the worst part. We have to take that apart without anything falling over."

Parapets are low protective walls running along the roof of the building.

Pumehana resident Jardine said residents will gladly put up with the workers, noise and construction equipment to have a safe building and be allowed to continue to live in the urban area close to shopping, bus lines and services.

"We are really excited about this," Jardine said. "For what is going to be done, we will put up with it."

Reach James Gonser at 535-2431 or jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.