More senior citizens are on the waiting list for units at a housing complex under construction in Hilo than the total number of units the complex eventually will offer.
The second phase of construction at Hilo’s Mohouli Heights Senior Neighborhood, which is intended to provide high-quality, affordable housing for low-income senior citizens, is on track for completion in October. Construction was funded with affordable-housing tax credits, federal and state funds.
But it won’t be enough to fill the need.
Phase I, already complete and fully occupied, created 60 apartments. Phase II will include 30 new apartments. Phase III, estimated for completion in 2019, will add 92 more.
Keith Kato, executive director of the Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation, said in June that construction surpassed 60 percent completion.
But, he said, there are perhaps up to 200 people on the waiting list. The total number of units for all three phases combined at the 573 Mohouli St. facility is 182.
The two-story housing units, which include elevators and an area for gardeners, go to those who spend 30 percent of their income on housing, with the average tenant paying about $265 a month, Kato said.
“We know that there’s a lot of seniors who would qualify,” he said.
C. Kimo Alameda, director of the county’s Office of Aging, said transportation, so far, has been the biggest concern expressed by senior citizens.
But, he said, “I know housing, in particular senior housing, is something we could use more of, especially affordable housing.”
About a quarter of the population of Hawaii Island — 50,000 people — is composed of senior citizens, Alameda said.
“They’re living with their children, many of them,” he said.
Unfortunately, Alameda said, some senior citizens are ending up homeless. But the Office of Aging has some ideas to address that.
There are shelters for domestic violence, but “what about a shelter for seniors?” Alameda said.
The Office of Aging planned in June to send out a request for proposals to operate such a shelter.
Even though the list for Mohouli Heights is so long, it’s a good thing, Alameda said.
“That’s a step, actually, getting them on a waiting list,” he said.
Completion of Phase II for Mohouli Heights, Kato said, “is a dent, but it certainly doesn’t accomplish the total need.”
The Hawaii Island Community Development Corp. hopes to keep right on building after Mohouli Heights is finished.
“We need to find more financing — and more sites,” Kato said.
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
