HILO — Transitional housing units for people who were displaced by Kilauea volcano eruptions are nearly finished.
The Hale Iki Village, a development of 11 micro units built on property owned by a Big Island church, was expected to be completed last month, but its completion was pushed back because of other storms in the area, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported .
Ten families have been identified for Hale Iki, said Pastor Dion Maeda with the Connect Point Church in Hawaiian Paradise Park, located in east side of Big Island.
A tentative move-in date is set for Tuesday. A grand opening is planned for Sept. 29.
Hope Services Hawaii will help the church do the management for those who come in, Maeda said.
The church owns the land and initiated the work, but 85 different community partners have since joined the church on the effort, Maeda said.
He thanked the faith groups, businesses, nonprofits and individuals in the community “for coming together to help our neighbors in their time of need. That’s what the Big Island is all about — everyone helping out one another.”
Hale Iki is the second such development that has come to fruition in the wake of the eruption activity.
Hale Iki will focus on family housing, while a similar development of 20 micro units at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pahoa is taking in elderly evacuees. The second project was completed earlier this summer.
The Sacred Heart shelter’s first residents moved in July 3, Hope Services CEO Brandee Menino said.
The Sacred Heart shelter and the Hale Iki are the only two projects completed or under construction that Menino is aware of. Other similar projects are still in the planning phases, she said.
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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
