Joint Ceremony Celebrates Opening of Meheula III Affordable Housing Project, Groundbreaking of Meheula IV
HONOLULU – State housing officials joined the development partners of the Meheula Vista project in Mililani Mauka as they untied the maile lei to open Phase III and then walked about 100 yards away to break ground on Phase IV.
When the fourth and final phase is completed in 2024, the 7.5-acre Meheula Vista complex will feature four apartment buildings totaling 301 housing units, a free-standing, multi-purpose building designed for senior activities and 143 on-site parking stalls. The complex offers seniors earning 60% area median income or less an affordable housing option where they can “age in place.”
The nonprofit Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Catholic Charities Hawaii owns, develops and manages real estate properties with the intent to provide affordable housing for seniors, individuals with special needs and other persons or families who are socially or economically disadvantaged.
HHFDC invested nearly $12 million in “gap” financing and allocated nearly $9 million in state low-income housing tax credits for the latest phases of Meheula Vista.
“Now our seniors have more homes where they can afford to live during their golden years, and be able to do so comfortably,” said HHFDC Executive Director Denise Iseri-Matsubara. “That is something to be celebrated.”
Gov. David Ige achieved the goal of 10,000 housing units completed from the time he took office in December 2014 to 2020 and the state is on track to add 3,000 more units online when he leaves office at the end of 2022. HHFDC’s projections show more than 7,000 housing units, nearly all of them in affordable categories, will be completed from 2023 to 2027.
“It’s through these types of private-public partnerships that more housing is possible so our community can have homes they can afford to live in,” Iseri-Matsubara said.
During the summer, Gov. Ige signed into law Senate Bill 3048, which infuses $300 million into the Rental Housing Revolving Fund, the largest, one-time infusion in the program’s history. “These additional funds will allow us to provide assistance to developers so they can feasibly build affordable rental projects for our residents,” Iseri-Matsubara said.
The mission of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation is to increase and preserve the supply of affordable housing statewide by providing financing and development resources for housing development.
Contact: Gordon Pang, gordon.pang@hawaii.gov or 808-341-4069
