East Hawaii’s newest senior housing project will celebrate a dedication of the property today.
East Hawaii’s newest senior housing project will celebrate a dedication of the property today.
After breaking ground in March 2012, the 60-unit Mohouli Heights Senior Neighborhood, located at the intersection of Mohouli and Komohana streets, is set for its first tenants to move in on April 1, said Keith Kato, executive director of the Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation (HICDC).
“I think it’s a very functional facility and very attractive. I think our residents are going to enjoy themselves,” he said.
The 15.9-acre site was provided by the state to Hawaii County in 2008 for the purpose of developing a senior housing complex and related uses. The county, in turn, leased the site to HICDC in 2009, and the organization secured the $19.5 million funding in 2011.
An $8.3 million capital advance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and $11.25 million in equity derived from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program were used to fund the project.
The county will subsidize 20 units for seniors with incomes at or below 30-50 percent of the Hawaii County median income. Applicants must be at least 62 years old to qualify. The additional 40 units will be subsidized with federal rental assistance funding, with the same age and income requirements.
The neighborhood was initially planned to be ready for occupancy in November, but construction delays held it up.
“We had a variety of construction issues,” Kato said. “It just took some time to work them out. The main thing was to be able to finish by the end of the year. Work was completed Dec. 27, when we got the certificate of occupancy from the county.”
The first residents were selected several months ago via a lottery process run by the county’s Office of Housing and Community Development, Kato said.
“We had a total of 248 applicants (for 60 spots),” he said.
The complex, consists of 11 residential buildings providing 60 units and a community gathering place. It represents the first phase of a complex that will eventually house an additional 90 senior residential housing units, according to plans. Funding for the second phase has not yet been secured, Kato said.
“The Mohouli Heights Senior Neighborhood project has been designed with Hilo’s rainy climate in mind,” reads a press release from the HICDC. “All of the units have cross ventilation provided by doors and windows on the front and back of the units and covered walkways connecting all units to the rest of the complex, including the community center which has a laundry, mailboxes and a large activity room. All units are one-bedroom, one-bath, a full kitchen and are approximately 590 square feet in size.”
The Mohouli project represents the HICDC’s seventh senior housing complex on the island. The organization will pursue further funding to develop additional senior housing units at the Mohouli complex as well as projects in Kona.
The Mohouli Heights dedication ceremony will take place at 11 a.m.
Today’s festivities will also feature a blessing of the future home of Hilo Adult Day Center, which is looking to move from its location at the former Hilo Memorial Hospital on Rainbow Drive. The day center has benefited from the use of the aging building, built in 1924, for about 33 years, said Paula Uusitalo, executive director of the nonprofit Hawaii Island Adult Care Inc.
“This will offer us the security of having a permanent home,” she said of the plan. “We appreciate the county having provided us this space all this time; They’ve done an invaluable service to the community in letting us stay, as well as to our kupuna and our families.”
Plans call for a $7.5 million facility that will accommodate up to 80 daily participants in the program. Currently, the program serves between 60 and 65 elderly people a day.
“Adult day care is essential for our community. It keeps (seniors) living at home and families are able to work and have time off. And it allows our kupuna dignity and independence, of whom the vast majority would be institutionalized. It’s more reasonable and affordable than any other form of care,” Uusitalo said.
Plans for the new facility are being drawn, paid for by a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant from the county, according to a press release. Additional funding has been secured during the past two legislative session totaling about $1.4 million.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie recently announced the release of $385,000 for the design and construction of the infrastructure to support the Hilo Adult Day Center. The project’s $7.5 million fundraising goal has been aided by a $500,000 block grant proposed this year. Organizers anticipate that future funding from the state, private trusts and foundations and community contributions will complete the funding.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.