HANAMA‘ULU — “These are challenging times, but there are some good things coming out of it and today we celebrate a small, but good thing,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. The “small good thing” he was referring to was
HANAMA‘ULU — “These are challenging times, but there are some good things coming out of it and today we celebrate a small, but good thing,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
The “small good thing” he was referring to was the completion of Phase 4 of Kalepa Village, which was dedicated and blessed Friday morning at the foothills of the Kalepa Ridge in Hanama‘ulu.
With the dedication, the Kalepa Village completes its development of 180 units on 12 acres as Yuhui and Kathleen Hsu and their daughters Joy and Meilin, tenants of Phase 4, joined dignitaries in untying the maile lei.
Eugene Jimenez, the county’s Housing Agency director, said Phase 4 consists of 40 units, with funding for the project being shared between the Community Development Block Grant program, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the State of Hawai‘i Capital Improvement Program and the County Housing Revolving Fund.
Started in the ruins of Hurricane ‘Iniki, Ken Rainforth of the Housing Agency said he was asked to write a $41 million request of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye for a Hanama‘ulu project.
That was the groundwork for Kalepa Village when the county purchased the property and the first phase of the survey-based design was completed in late 1996 and early 1997.
Rainforth said based on the surveys received, there was a need for “large families” and the majority of the units at Kalepa Village are three-bedroom units to answer that request.
Kober Hanssen Mitchell Architects, Inc. had a design that remained intact following a few modifications, Rainforth said.
“We started work on Kalepa in 1994 and after going through all the County Council meetings, I met MaBel Fujiuchi, director of the Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity, many of the council people,” said Kurth Mitchell, Chairman and CEO of Kober Hanssen Mitchell. “The community takes the credit for this design, and the county should be commended for investing in the community.”
Mitchell said the design for Kalepa Village has been used as a model within the state discussions on housing solutions.
“This has been a collaborative effort between the county, the state, but the bulk of the work has been done by the staff at the Housing Agency,” Carvalho said.
Bill “Kaipo” Asing, chair of the County Council, said when the first 60 units were completed, it also included all of the infrastructure for the project.
Following the blessing of the first phase that also included the multi-purpose clubhouse, Rainforth said a recession caused a slowdown until 2003, when Phase 2 was dedicated.
Under the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste, Phase 3 was dedicated in 2007 and with the work of the Kaua‘i Housing Development Board, the final phase marks the completion of the project.
