Developers have broken ground on the 20-story Kokua Senior Living affordable housing community in downtown Honolulu.
The development will provide 222 residential studio apartments, ranging between 250 and 330 square feet, for seniors 55 and older, plus two managers’ units. Kokua Senior Living will serve residents with incomes at or below 30% and 60% of the area median income.
Highridge Costa of Gardena, California, and Coastal Rim Properties of Honolulu are developing the community jointly. The project is designed by SVA Architects and is being built by Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co.
“For over 28 years Highridge Costa has been creating quality new affordable senior and family housing in partnership with states throughout the U.S., including Hawaii,” said Michael Costa, president and CEO of Highridge Costa. “We are very excited and proud to announce the start of construction on our newest affordable senior community, Kokua Senior Living in Honolulu, that will enrich the lives of many seniors while also being an asset to the state of Hawaii.”
Kokua Senior Living will meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development standards, with 12 units to be fully accessible.
The project will include a ground floor lobby, a five-story parking garage, and a sixth-floor podium level with a landscaped outer deck featuring shaded seating and a lush garden. The podium level also will have a common laundry room, lanai space, office space, and the manager/resident services units.
The overall location offers an abundance of amenities for residents within a half-mile radius, including a hospital, banks, parks, grocery stores, and a bus stop across the street from the building.
The $88 million development is financed with a combination of tax-exempt bonds, low-income housing tax credit equity, and a $35.9 million Rental Housing Revolving Fund Loan from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. (HHFDC). Citibank is the construction lender, RBC Community Investments is the federal tax credit investor, and Sugar Creek Capital is the state tax credit investor.
“Producing affordable housing has been a top priority for my administration since I first took office in 2014,” said Gov. David Ige. “The Kokua Senior Living complex marks a new chapter because it provides quality homes at affordable rents in the heart of downtown Honolulu for the kupuna in our community with the greatest need for them. It is through collaborative efforts with private-sector housing developers—such as the partnership we formed here with Highridge Costa and Coastal Rim Properties—that we are able to produce in a timely and efficient manner the affordable housing units that our residents deserve.”
