Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 10, 1 October 2001 — OHA invests in quality homes [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA invests in quality homes

By Naomi Sodetani OHA's first community-ori-ented eeonomie development venture will help Hawaiians take occupancy on homestead lands by offering low-cost, high-quality manufactured homes that ean be assembled quickly, minimizing labor costs. On Sept. 6, the OHA board voted to give Quality Homes of the Pacific $500,000 in return for a 50 percent majority share of a loeal manufac-tured-housing plant venture. Forging a unique partnership between Hawaiian organizations for the benefit of Hawaiians, particularly homesteaders, the venture involves cooperation between OHA,

Quality Homes, labor union members, and Alu Like. "This project could deliver homes to the Hawaiian community at very affordable rates with high quality," said trustee Oswald Stender. OHA's decision was based on a critical need for affordable housing and low rate of homeownership among Hawaiians. According to Quality Homes' business plan, the venture's primary market is native Hawaiians, particularly homesteaders. "This is a viable alternative to traditional and self-help means of developing homes for Hawaiians," said Patti Tancayo, OHA housing programs senior specialist. Quality Homes will produce steel-framed home packages at its

Campbell Industrial Park warehouse, where the homes will be pre-built in large sections then shipped throughout the state, where eomplehon ean occur in as little as two weeks on-site. At full capacity, the plant will produce 500 homes per year with a work force of at

least 100, said attorney Kali Watson, former chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, who serves as chairman of Quality Homes, as well as the president of the nonprofit Hawaiian Community Development Board. Quality Homes packages will retail for an average of $50 per square foot - half the usual eonstruction cost for site-built homes - thus allowing many families who can't qualify for a $100,000 mortgage to obtain homeownership with a much-smaller mortgage due to the price savings on a manufactured home, Watson said. The venture's first pilot project will deliver 45 prefabricated housing units to Menehune Development Company ine. next July. Working with the Honolulu Habitat for Humanity, the Big Island-based company is building the selfhelp phase of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Malu'ōhai project in the Villages of Kapolei. These three-bedroom, two-bath homes will sell for $70,000. Menehune Development Company ine. developed homes at the Kaniohale homestead subdivision at La'i'ōpua Villages in Kona. The project represents OHA's first eeonomie development investment to help generate revenue to augment the agency's $325 million trust. OHA will own 50 percent interest in Quality Homes, giving it controlling power on the company's governing board. Loeal 368 of the Laborers' International Union of North America

has conditionally committed $250,000 to buy a 25 percent interest in the company, with an eye toward building homes for its own members. Two others holding 10 percent interest eaeh in Quality Homes are the Hawaiian Community Development Board and MH Consultants LCC, whieh is headed by Andy Karsten and Robert Wilden who serve as officers for the company. According to Quality Homes' business plan, Alu Like ine., whieh provides job training for native Hawaiians, will provide some of the plant's start-up work force. Watson, who brokered the partnership effort, said the idea for a loeal manufactured-housing plant grew out of a need to find more affordable ways to produce quality homes for native Hawaiians, including the 16,707 Native Hawaiian families on the Hawaiian Home Lands residential waiting list, as well as homesteaders who have leases but cannot qualify for new home mortgages. Statewide, Hawaiians struggle with low-earning jobs and the high cost of living whieh has pushed homeownership out of the reach for many. The homeownership rate for Hawaiians Iags behind other ethnic groups in Hawai'i. Up to now, OHA has assisted Hawaiians in achieving homeownership by providing over $1 million in grants to help self-help housing and over $23 million in low-interest housing loans. ■

Quality Homes will produce steel-framed house packages like this model home manufactured by QH consultant Karsten Homes of Sacramento, Callf . pnoto: Pom rancoyo