Project aims to blend senior housing with family homes
St. Francis Development Corp. is taking an innovative tack with its new Franciscan Vistas Ewa residential community, offering supportive care and rental housing for seniors alongside affordable leasehold homes for working people and families.
The project comes at a time when Oahu home sales have started to decline as the market's meteoric rise has pushed prices, even condo prices, past the point of affordability for some. Commercial real estate developers and St. Francis are banking that demand for the $90 million-plus development will be strong because it offers an assisted-living/affordable-housing option not yet available.
The move into housing for the elderly is part of a shift by St. Francis from acute care to wellness and healthy living to meet the needs of Hawaii's growing elderly population, said Pamela Witty-Oakland, executive director of the St. Francis Residential Care Community.
According to the most recent state Hawaii Housing Policy Study, in 2003 an estimated 114,339 households on Oahu included at least one elderly member. The study, conducted by SMS Research, indicated that most of these seniors were not interested in moving from their homes and that those who lived alone and wanted to downsize would prefer to rent, Witty-Oakland said.
"Some seniors have quite a lot of equity in their homes, but if they sold them where would they go?" Witty-Oakland said.
The quest to answer that query was the basis for the Ewa project, she said.
"By focusing on wellness with a residential care project, the Sisters will reach more people and help them stay healthy in their home environment," Witty-Oakland said. Research has shown that seniors who stay active are far more likely to age well, she said.
St. Francis acquired the 23-acre parcel, located within Ewa Villages, from the city for $4.3 million. Grants from the Weinberg Foundation and Honolulu's Community Development Block Grant fund paid for all but $300,000 or so of the project, which is slated for completion in 2007.
The development, which will include 171 senior rentals, 100 flats and townhomes and 56 cluster homes, is modeled around a supportive care concept called "Stay Healthy at Home." It is designed to provide seniors with a community center and programs to keep them active as well as meal preparation, transportation, and help taking medications and bathing, Witty-Oakland said.
Senior renters in this development will have full access to the Stay Healthy at Home program, while multi-generational homeowners will be able to purchase these services piecemeal, she said.
Although rental and sales prices have not been determined, the project is meant to provide affordable housing, Witty-Oakland said. Senior rentals will be restricted to those earning between $27,100 and $54,100 annually and leasehold homes will be priced for buyers who earn between $51,800 and $77,000 annually, she said.
Lease fees will be $1 a year for a 45-year term, Witty-Oakland said.
"This is a very different model as compared to what's already out there," Witty-Oakland said.
The price and proposed amenities have caught the eyes of Ray and Veronica Desmet of Makakilo, who have been searching for affordable retirement alternatives for nearly 15 years.
"Living in a single-family home by yourself makes for a lot of upkeep and repairs," said Ray Desmet, who will retire from a state job at age 66 later this year. The couple had raised their three sons in the four-bedroom home for the past 27 years.
"There are many seniors interested in retirement housing, but most of it is overpriced," Desmet said.
"We looked at Kahala Nui when we got the mailing about five years ago, but once we found out the numbers we said 'You've got to be kidding.'"
Desmet said he plans to attend an informational briefing on Franciscan Vistas Ewa that will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Ewa Elementary School cafeteria.
In recent years, Hawaii's aging population has drawn more developers to consider entering the senior housing market, creating retirement communities that consist of condominium projects, such as One Kalakaua; rental communities, such as the Hawaii Kai Retirement Community; and continuing care retirement communities such as Kahala Nui, which recently sold out of nearly all of its units.
Franciscan Vistas Ewa, which will combine rental and ownership for a mixed market, is an interesting hybrid of these concepts, said Mike Hamasu, director of research and consulting at commercial real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander.
"I haven't heard of anyone doing anything like this. Demand for this project should be strong," Hamasu said.
