PRINCEVILLE — An affordable housing project in Princeville has been on the town’s long range plans — and on a lot of people’s minds — for at least 25 years, when the Princeville Center’s former owners released plans to expand the shopping center.
Movement on those plans, however, remained dormant until last year, when officials from affordable housing developer Vitus Group stepped up to move the project forward.
“Pulling one of these things together is a juggling act,” Makani Maeva, director of the Vitus Group’s Hawaii office, said. “It’s a balancing act to make sure that you are doing something that is appropriate, have the right financing and are doing it at the right time.”
And that time, developers, county officials and some residents say, is now.
The project appears ready to move ahead.
One of the last things left to do, Maeva said, is to get the green light from the county’s Planning Commission to build the development on what is now vacant land zoned for commercial purposes.
If everything goes as planned and the financing is secured, Maeva said the project could break ground as early as the first quarter of next year.
“The County Housing Agency is very excited about Kolopua,” County Housing Director Kamuela Cobb-Adams said. “The project will provide much-needed workforce housing in Princeville.”
Plans call for the development of 44 one-, two- and three-bedroom rental apartments, ranging in size from 745 to 1,128 square feet, on about 3.5 acres of vacant land on the makai side of Kuhio Highway just north of the Princeville Center.
All of the units at the project, called Kolopua, will be rented to households earning less than 60 percent of the island’s median income, or less than $38,600, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
The rental costs for each unit will be equal to about 30 percent of a renter’s monthly income and will vary depending on the number of people in a unit and the unit’s size.
The maximum rent limits set by the state is $950 for a one-bedroom apartment, $1,100 for a two-bedroom apartment, and $1,335 for a three-bedroom apartment. But Maeva said Vitus and the Kauai County Housing Agency officials may not charge that much and want to keep rental costs as low as possible.
When plans were first drawn up, Maeva said estimated monthly rental costs would range from $750 to $1,100.
According to a zoning amendment for the property approved by the Planning Commission last year, housing priority for the units will be given first to employees who work within Princeville.
The remaining units will then be given to employees who work within the county’s Hanalei tax zone, which extends from Kilauea to Haena, and then to those who work within the Kawaihau tax zone, which extends from Waipouli to Moloaa.
Specific construction costs, she said, have not been determined yet.
“The intent is that it will house the workforce of the Princeville and North Shore area,” Maeva said. “We’re trying to serve the intent of that language, which was those people working within Princeville, Hanalei and that area, who could benefit from housing near their workplace.”
Fee simple interest of the land where the housing project would sit would be transferred from Kolopua Partners, LP to the County of Kauai at no cost within 60 years, according to county documents.
The county, Maeva explained, will then lease it back to Kolopua Partners for $1 a year as long as the company is able to maintain it as affordable.
But what to nearby residents think?
Rory Enright, general manager for the Princeville at Hanalei Community Association, said the input he has received from Princeville residents have been generally positive.
“I think it’s great that we’re finally going to have this here — most of the people who I’ve talked to about this have said, ‘It’s about time.’” Enright said. “I think everyone involved in this have really thought through what they’re doing. It actually is affordable housing — the fact that they’ve done it as rental housing, one- to three-bedroom in a pretty sweet spot pricing wise …(It) is very attractive for the employees here because there’s not much available in that price range.”
While residents contacted by a reporter Friday favored the project, not everybody is behind it.
Comments on The Garden Island website after the initial story detailed the plan were mixed, with some anonymous commentators doubting the project meets its goals.
“There will never be affordable housing on Kauai — there will be tiny apartments that two and three families live in at once,” TGI commentator ChumpChangeChuckie wrote in an online post. “That’s Kauai’s definition of affordable housing. True affordable housing is something that disappeared from Kauai ages ago, never to return, so let’s stop kidding ourselves.”
But Kilauea resident Monique Newell, who used to live in Princeville, said the project would be a plus for the community.
“I think it will be a very good thing,” Newell said on Friday afternoon as she helped to watch a group of children playing at Prince Albert Park in Princeville. “Affordable housing is something in general that has really been lacking.”
Jane Campos, who also lives in Kilauea, said the proposed project would add to the town’s diversity, which has, in more recent years, been largely dominated by hotels, timeshares and vacation homes.
“I think it will be a good thing, because there’s not many places affordable places here,” Campos said. “I think it’ll lower the price on rent — I pay rent and I know it can be expensive.”
Chelby Mortonson, who has lived on Kauai for six years, said the opportunity to have an affordable housing project on the North Shore is crucial for those working or seeking jobs in the area but have a hard time making ends meet.
“I think it’s really great for people who really need a job and a place to stay,” Mortonson said. “It’s kind of sad where (businesses) hire people who have the ability to rent and not people who can’t afford to rent and need a job really badly.”
An agency hearing for the project will go before the Planning Commission at 9 a.m. Jan. 14 at the Lihue Civic Center Moikeha Building in Meeting Room 2A/2B.
• Darin Moriki, county government reporter, can be reached at 245-0428 or dmoriki@thegardenisland.com. Follow him on Twitter at @darinmoriki.
