LIHUE – A groundbreaking ceremony was held last week to mark the beginning of construction of the Rice Camp Senior Housing, phase one, an affordable rental complex for seniors in Lihue. The project will add 60 units to the island’s
LIHUE – A groundbreaking ceremony was held last week to mark the beginning of construction of the Rice Camp Senior Housing, phase one, an affordable rental complex for seniors in Lihue.
The project will add 60 units to the island’s inventory with six single-story buildings of six units each, and one two-story building with 24 units.
Completion of phase one is targeted for spring of next year. Future plans for Rice Camp include construction of additional buildings as funding becomes available.
“Facilitating affordable housing opportunities for Kauai residents is one of our top priorities,” said Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. “We are very happy that our kupuna will soon have an affordable place to live in that’s close to the services they need. They’ll be able to walk or even ride bikes to places.”
Acknowledging the entities that were instrumental in bringing the Rice Camp project to fruition, the mayor said, “This project is happening because of the collaboration of everyone involved, from the County Council to the federal, state, and county agencies as well as the developer and general contractor.”
Leading the charge are the County Housing Agency and Vitus Group, Inc.
Other key partners in the Lihue project include: the County Council; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp.; Shioi Construction; Department of Public Works; Department of Water; Kaua‘i Fire Department; Department of Planning; and the Office of the County Attorney.
In fact, this spirit of cooperation resulted in Kauai garnering the majority of the state’s allocation this year for low income housing tax credits for new development.
Not only did the island receive the tax credits for Rice Camp, it also obtained tax credits for Kolopua, the workforce-housing complex that is scheduled to break ground later this year in Princeville.
Vitus Group, Inc. is the developer for both affordable housing projects.
“We made a presentation to HHFDC requesting the tax credits as a team, and I’m very happy that we were successful,” said Makani Maeva, director of the Vitus Group Honolulu office.
Maeva also noted that the Lihue project is based on a pedestrian-oriented design with a greenbelt running through the middle. Plans are in place for it to be built in accordance with LEED green building guidelines.
Some of the green features at Rice Camp include:
• Units will be situated to take advantage of the prevailing tradewinds and natural ventilation.
• Units will have low-E glass windows and a light colored roof to reduce heat penetration.
• Landscaping will be drought tolerant.
• Walkways throughout will lead to raised garden plots for the kupuna who like to garden.
Rice Camp residents will also enjoy other amenities including: ceiling fans; Energy Star appliances such as instant hot gas hot water heaters; water saving plumbing fixtures; and quality plywood cabinetry.
In addition, there will be a community center with a meeting/party room, maintenance/storage room and accommodations for a full-time, on-site management staff, maintenance personnel and a part-time senior coordinator for residents.
Rental applications for Rice Camp will be accepted as the project nears completion, and a lottery will be held to determine who the charter residents will be. An announcement will be made when the dates are confirmed. Rents will not exceed the 60 percent affordable rent guidelines established annually by the HUD.
Occupancy is restricted to households at or below 60 percent of the Kaua’i median household income limits — one person, $38,160 and two people, $43,620.
