CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
California Dreaming partners Lloyd Tom, left, Alvin Wong, and Dale Ho, examine plans for the Wahiawa apartment complex they are developing for low-income seniors. The 42-unit project will have an open house Saturday. CLICK FOR LARGE
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Developers dreaming of helping seniors
A trio of baby boomers is building apartments in Wahiawa for isle seniors
A few dozen low-income seniors, with fixed incomes vulnerable to escalating rents and mortgages, will soon have another housing option thanks to a tax-credit-assisted project that is coming to market in Wahiawa.
The affordable rental complex, California Avenue Apartments, will hardly satisfy pent-up demand in that market, as its 42 units are just a drop in the bucket compared to the estimated 17,000 or so apartments the state estimates are needed to ease the shortfall in Hawaii's affordable housing.
The developers, a Honolulu partnership named California Dreaming, will host an open house Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the site at 220 California Avenue. Applicants must be age 62 and above, with annual incomes ranging from $24,950 to $28,500. The three-story complex will feature a garden and senior community center as well as a coin-operated laundry on every floor.
The one-bedroom units, which are being developed by Dale Ho, Alvin Wong and Lloyd Tom, will rent for $605 per month including utilities and parking. Other apartments in the area rent for $850 to $1,200 a month.
After acquiring the Wahiawa parcel from a private owner three years ago, the principals of California Dreaming decided to tear down the 20 old homes and duplexes on the property to cater to the long-neglected senior market.
"Looking at the residents who were living on the land, it was clear that there was a real need for decent affordable housing for seniors," Ho said.
He added that Oahu's aging population and tightening in the agricultural industry has created more need for affordable senior housing.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Lloyd Tom, Alvin Wong and Dale Ho are aiming to provide a low-cost housing alternative for Hawaii's seniors with their California Avenue Apartments project in Wahiawa. Above, Ho walked past security fencing on the ground floorof the 42-unit rental project. Beyond the fence is a recreation room. CLICK FOR LARGE
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Prohibitive land costs and the potential for project costs to outpace rental income and returns have discouraged developers from catering to this market.
Affordable housing and transportation are priority items for the Hawaii chapter of AARP, which numbers 152,000 members, said Harry Mattson, associate state director for advo- cacy of AARP Hawaii.
"In Hawaii, housing and transportation are even more important than in other jurisdictions. I can't have a meeting where some volunteer or member does not talk about these issues," Mattson said, adding that AARP is closely monitoring current legislative proposals and looking for ways to create more senior affordable housing opportunities, especially transit-oriented development for those on Oahu.
While California Dreaming was sold on the project, the challenge was making it pencil out, Wong said.
An award of nearly $8 million in state and federal tax credits over a 10-year-period eased the burden, he said.
"These kinds of projects just really aren't that profitable, but we believed in this project and we wanted to make it work," Wong said.
Selling the tax credits to a syndicator resulted in enough upfront cash to get the project off the ground, he said.
Other developers are following suit, said Darren Ueki, finance manager, for the Hawaii Housing, Finance and Development Corp., which was created by the state legislature in 2005 to ease development of affordable housing.
This year, Hawaii will award $2.45 million in federal low income housing tax credits and will match that program with at least $1.25 million in state credits, which are funded through a percentage of conveyance tax collections, he said.
"We have about $22 million in the trust fund and there are about $59 million worth of projects on the table," Ueki said.