The Retirement
Waltz
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Dr. Timothy Wee, a resident at the One Kalakaua retirement complex in Honolulu, gets exercise by dancing with nurse's aide Lee Sele. One Kalakaua is among the growing numbers of retirement living options for Hawaii seniors.
Retirement centers are springing up throughout the state but sorting through the various projects and their costs can be confusing
By Peter Wagner
Star-BulletinThey're popping up everywhere from Hilo to Hawaii Kai - retirement communities with names like One Kalakaua, Lyman Gardens, and the Ponds at Punaluu. On opposite corners of Kapiolani and Ward, two developers have scrapped plans for luxury condominiums to build senior residences called Symphony Park and the Renaissance at Kapiolani.
Far away in the uplands of Mililani-Mauka, a fee-simple townhouse community called Olaloa is offering peace, quiet, and cheaper real estate.
These are the new kids on the block, come to challenge the flagships that for decades have served a thin upper crust: Arcadia and Pohai Nani on Oahu and Sun Village on Kauai.
Hungry developers have taken note of the long waiting lists, the fast-growing senior population and the migration of seniors to Sun Belt communities on the mainland. It's a mini-boom in a busted construction industry that could triple retirement housing in Hawaii by the end of next year.
"I think developers are just positioning themselves for the future," said Cliff Cassity, marketing director at the recently opened Ponds at Punaluu. "There's going to be an explosion of senior citizens in the next ten years."
First off the mark was Daiichi-Four Mililani Joint Venture, which several years ago completed the 360-unit Olaloa in Mililani-Mauka. At least 14 other projects are following suit, some recently finished, under construction, or in various stages of planning.
Pan Pacific Medical Development, a Seattle-based company with a dozen current projects on the West Coast, recently opened the Ponds at Punaluu. The "assisted living" rental project - an increasingly popular alternative to nursing homes - is among five projects the company is planning across the state totaling $58 million.
Pan Pacific sees assisted living, a growing industry on the mainland, as something that could ease pressure on Hawaii's overcrowded nursing facilities.
"We've targeted skilled nursing and assisted living because they provide the levels of assistance that are critically needed in Hawaii right now," said Bruce Beard, president of Pan Pacific.
Hawaii indeed has one of the nation's fastest-growing populations of senior citizens. While the state's total population grew by 15 percent between 1980 and 1990, the over-85 segment grew by 87 percent. Projections show exponential growth in the next 30 years as the "baby boomers" reach retirement and the elderly live longer, healthier lives.
"It's a key market," said Bruce Coppa, director of the Pacific Resource Partnership, a consulting firm that lobbies for the Hawaii Carpenter's Union and contractors.
The hard-hit union, suffering 50 percent unemployment, put $12 million into One Kalakaua - one of several Honolulu projects it has helped underwrite in recent years to provide jobs for its workers.
Far more widespread on the mainland, retirement communities have been slow to catch on in Hawaii. Advantages include companionship, activities, programs, and sometimes meals and medical services. But cultural traditions here have stood in the way, particularly on the neighbor islands where family ties remain strong.
Surveys show more than 80 percent of Hawaii's seniors stay at home, by choice or necessity. But that is becoming increasingly difficult as families move and demographics change.
"It took a while for continuing care retirement communities to come around," said Emmet White, president of the Arcadia Retirement Residence. "Seniors used to stay at home. But now with the baby boomers and the lifestyle changes of two breadwinners, children don't have the time or financial resources to take care of mom and dad."
The situation leaves a wide gap between the wealthy who can afford in-home care and lower income groups able to qualify for subsidized housing. Those in between, the middle-to-upper-income elderly, for years have had few choices in Hawaii.
But now developers are jostling for a niche, offering everything from month-to-month rentals to fee-simple condos and refundable fees. Most projects are aimed at "independent" seniors - those able to take care of themselves. Many, anticipating future needs, provide assisted and nursing care for additional fees.
Sorting through the options and the costs can be confusing: Some communities have entrance fees, others don't. Some offer ownership, others rent. Some - like Pohai Nani and Arcadia - provide everything from meals and maids to 24-hour nursing.
Still others are bare-bones condominiums with few services or restrictions.
In Lihue, at the 20-year-old Sun Village Complex, elderly residents are on their own with meals and other needs. But the leasehold condominium appeals to its independent-minded residents, including a 104-year-old man and a 99-year-old woman.
At the high end of the new projects is One Kalakaua, a redesigned luxury highrise that opened in October on the corner of Beretania and King streets as a fee-simple retirement community. With prices as high as $600,000 for a 928-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment and monthly maintenance fees of $1,500, the wood-paneled highrise is among the priciest of newcomers.
"We kind of targeted the more affluent seniors," said Clifford Fujiwara, senior vice president at Central Pacific Bank, which helped finance the project. "We felt there were a lot of seniors in their 70s or 80s that owned homes free and clear in the more exclusive areas that were ready to move into this type of development."
The same neighborhoods are well represented up the street at Arcadia, one of Hawaii's first retirement residences, now undergoing a $10 million renovation.
Unlike One Kalakaua, Arcadia offers no equity - a sore point for some, particularly Hawaii's Asian community, determined to pass on an inheritance. Instead, Arcadia's stiff entrance fees of between $86,600 and $250,000 guarantee lifelong care. That means Arcadia will cover living expenses if you fall short.
The promise has appeal because of the sharply rising cost of care as aging progresses. Limited assistance or full-time nursing can add $4,000 to $5,000 to monthly rents, now between $1,640 and $2,455 at Arcadia. The rents cover meals, programs, and amenities.
But Arcadia, which carefully reviews applicants' portfolios, rarely must tap its reserves, operators say. Two people sharing a one-bedroom apartment at Arcadia will put down an entrance fee of at least $165,600, plus $2,455 a month for room and board. According to White, the couple will need an annual income of $74,000 and assets of $100,000 - after the entrance fee.
Across the Koolaus at Pohai Nani, entrance fees are a more moderate $3,500 to $5,000. But monthly rents are generally above $2,000 - where you'll find them at retirement communities across the country.
Two people in in a one-bedroom apartment at Pohai Nani will pay $2,647 to $3,095 to be fed and pampered on a lush 16-acre hillside in Kaneohe.
Offering an alternative to all of these is Olaloa in Mililani-Mauka, a fee-simple townhouse community offering equity at lower prices. One-bedroom units start at $130,000 and two-bedrooms at $165,000. Monthly maintenance fees from $180 to $280 do not include meals.
"Everything depends on location," said Leilani Samer, principal broker at Olaloa. "We're affordable because we're outside of the city."
The Hawaii Kai Retirement Residence, under construction and to be completed next summer, is a rental without entrance fees. Rents ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, include meals, services and amenities.
In Hilo, the fee-simple Lyman Gardens, targeted for completion late next year, is offering one- and two-bedroom apartments from $129,000 to $238,000. Monthly fees of $690 to $895 do not include meals.
But if Hawaii's graying society has become a magnet for developers, some are skeptical of the rush. Many seniors are waiting out a sustained real estate slump to sell their homes before moving into a retirement community. And while the senior population is growing, only a small part of it can afford a retirement community.
"This is not the golden goose," said developer Jack Myers, who is planning a $143 million retirement project in Honolulu called Symphony Park. "A handful of the very best will happen, and that will make it difficult for others until the market has room."
Myers plans to offer a refundable entrance fee - a feature he hopes will attract seniors uncomfortable with the nonrefundable fees at Arcadia.
Karen Kido, project coordinator at One Kalakaua, agrees the market is limited.
"Seniors have the assets and the wealth, so it's a good market," Kido said. "But only a percentage of seniors will look at retirement living. I think there are too many projects on the drawing board."
At Lyman Gardens, soon to break ground in Hilo, Coldwell Banker Day-Lum Properties principal broker Nancy Cabral said it hasn't been easy.
"There are some really difficult hurdles to get over," she said. "There are strong expectations that, because I took care of my parents, my kids are going to take care of me. But the children are working and aren't anxious to carry on the tradition."
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Emmet White points to where new parking spaces will be built at the Arcadia Retirement Residences at 1414 Punahou.
Hawaii has been undergoing a boom in retirement development projects. On Oahu, for example, the Ponds at Punaluu, a 153-unit month-to-month rental for assisted living, opened in June, is at 30 percent occupancy. The Ponds plans to add a $10 million, 120-bed nursing facility on adjoining property next year. Posec Hawaii and its neighbor the Myers Corp. on Kapiolani Boulevard and Ward Avenue are planning separate high-rise retirement projects. . Choices aplenty for isle retirees
On Maui, groundbreaking is two months away on a 113-unit assisted living rental project called the Living Center at Ala Lani in Kahalui. Occupancy is targeted late next year. In Kihei, the 200-unit Kalama Heights rental project is planned on a 9-acre site by Holiday Retirement Corp., which also has a project in Hawaii Kai.
And on the Big Island, work is to begin soon on a 113-unit, fee-simple condominium complex in Hilo called Lyman Gardens. In Kona, there are plans for a 50- to 70-unit "assisted living" complex near the Keauhou Shopping Center and a $50 million retirement community called Heritage Park near Kailua-Kona.
Here's a rundown on what options are available, under construction or planned in Hawaii. Rates are subject to change.
Pohai Nani Good Samaritan Kauhale Operating
Independent living; assisted; nursing
Location: 45-090 Namoku St., Kaneohe
Arcadia Retirement Residence
Independent; assisted; nursing
Sun Village Complex
Independent
Olaloa
Independent
The Ponds at Punaluu
Assisted
One Kalakaua
Independent; assisted; nursing
Hawaii Kai Retirement Residence Under construction
Independent; assisted
Lyman Gardens
Independent; assisted
OAHU: Planned
Renaissance at Kapiolani
Independent, assisted, nursing
Symphony Park
Independent; assisted; nursing
Hale o Malia
Independent; assisted; nursing
Waipahu Senior Care Village
Assisted; nursing
Alii Care Inc.
Nursing
No name yet
Assisted living
MAUI:
The Living Center at Ala Lani
Assisted living
Kalama Heights
Independent; assisted
BIG ISLAND:
Heritage Park
Independent, assisted
No name yet
Assisted
