Applications will be available beginning Monday, May 3, for income-eligible folks interested in getting into a lottery that will be conducted to award the 40 new, affordable-rental apartments at Kalepa Village in Hanama‘ulu. Completed applications are due Friday, June 4,
Applications will be available beginning Monday, May 3, for income-eligible folks interested in getting into a lottery that will be conducted to award the 40 new, affordable-rental apartments at Kalepa Village in Hanama‘ulu.
Completed applications are due Friday, June 4, a lottery is planned for Wednesday, June 9, and occupancy is anticipated sometime in July, said John Frazier, executive director of the Kauai Housing Development Corporation.
Agents of Hawaii Affordable Properties, managers of the existing Kalepa Village rental apartments, are the contacts for both the applications and more information, 246-4481.
Frazier and others expect there will be way more than 40 applicants for the apartments, hence the need for a lottery to choose tenants from those who qualify under the income guidelines and successfully meet the application deadline.
Generally, those individuals and families who might qualify for the apartments must make less than 50 percent of Kaua‘i’s median income, based on family size, Frazier said.
Monthly rents will be $495 for one-bedroom units, $595 for two-bedroom units, and $695 for three-bedroom units. Tenants will pay their own electric bills, and a portion of sewer fees, said Frazier.
The units include washers, dryers, and solar hot-water heaters. There are units for persons with hearing, vision and mobility impairments.
The project is across Kuhio Highway from King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School in Hanama‘ulu, adjacent to the existing Kalepa Village units. Amenities include a recreation room, social hall, meeting room and playground.
The apartments were expected to be ready for occupancy this month, but heavy rains beginning in December delayed construction completion, Frazier said.
Primatech Construction Inc. is the general contractor.
Kalepa Village Partners is the partnership formed to build the 40 units on 2.8 acres leased from the County of Kaua‘i. The Kauai Housing Development Corporation is the general partner.
Federal low-income tax credits administered by state housing officials were sold to investors to raise capital to build the apartments, and officials with the County of Kauai Offices of Community Assistance Housing Agency kicked in $1.7 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds, Frazier explained.
The 40-unit project’s total construction cost is $6.8 million. Construction financing was arranged through officials with First Hawaiian Bank.
The federal tax-credits program, administered by state officials, is the program responsible for assisting developers of most affordable-rental projects nationally, he said.
The Bush administration wants to expand the tax-credits program to enable developers to build affordable single-family homes for purchase, but the details of that program needs congressional approval, Frazier said.
Frazier said KHDC officials plan on building more affordable rental housing on the island, but he could not say where yet.
There are two more building sites at Kalepa Village, each planned to contain 40 affordable rental apartments. There are preliminary plans to build those units, contingent on securing funding to do so, said Ken Rainforth, county executive on housing.
County officials have requested U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, D-Hawai‘i, and U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Neighbor Islands-rural O‘ahu, to work on securing funds for construction, Rainforth said.
Some county funding is available, and the project might also utilize mortgage-loan funds or proceeds from the sale of revenue bonds, he explained.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
