A dedication ceremony was recently held to mark completion of Kauhale I Ke Kula Uka, a new affordable family rental community in Kailua-Kona.
Kauhale I Ke Kula Uka features 99 units, including 58 3-bedroom units and 41 2-bedroom units, for households earning up to 60% of area median income (AMI). For reference, a household of four in 2024 could earn up to $66,480 per year.
The units are housed in six two-story and three-story garden-style residential wood-frame buildings with solar water heating and laundry facilities. Each unit is equipped with a range, oven, refrigerator, and garbage disposal.
Families are expected to begin moving into the units in the coming weeks, just in time to celebrate the holiday season.
Applications for units were prioritized through a lottery held this summer, and while the initial application phase has closed, a waiting list is maintained by Hawaiʻi Affordable Properties, Inc., the property manager.
Funding for the $54.4 million Kauhale I Ke Kula Uka is derived from tax-exempt bonds, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RHRF), HOME, Housing Trust Fund, and 75 Project-Based Vouchers awarded by the County of Hawaiʻi Office of Housing and Community Development.
Kauhale I Ke Kula Uka is the first family development by the HICDC on Hawaiʻi Island and the nonprofit’s first project in the Kona area since the completion of senior housing at Hualalai Elderly in 2007.
Another critical component to realizing the affordable housing project was the construction of a new 2-mile sewer line to service Kauhale I Ke Kula Uka, as well as the 1,300-unit market rate development planned by RCFC Kaloko Heights LLC.
To facilitate the costly improvements, the County of Hawaiʻi partnered with RCFC Kaloko Heights LLC to implement a Community Facilities District and issue just over $13 million in Special Tax Revenue Bonds to finance the project. The bond will be repaid in full through owners within the market-rate development.
For more information and to apply, visit https://www.hawaiiaffordable.com/.
Photo credit: Office of Mayor Mitch Roth