Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 5, 1 May 2002 — OHA builds Quality Homes [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA builds Quality Homes

By Naomi Sodetani OHA's first community-ori-ented eeonomie development venture took major strides last month toward the goal of helping Hawaiians achieve homeownership, Quality Homes of the Pacific, LLC recently launched operations in its new 'Ewa facility and has begun producing high-qual-ity, affordable steel-framed homes, On Feb, 15, Quality Homes began leasing its new 80,525 sq, ft, manufacturing plant in Barber's Point and has completed the first model unit for its first Department of Hawaiian Home Lands contract, The former aircraft hanger is abuzz with activity, as workers use cranes and machm.es to pre-build the company's first two model homes for the DHHL's new Kapolei housing project, OHA holds majority interest in the Hawaiian-owned manufactured homes company conceived with a focus on producing affordable homes for Native Hawaiians, particularly on homestead lands, Last month, the U,S, Housing and Urban Development certified the plant and the company's building plans, materials and assembly methods, HUD representatives have closely monitored the plant's assembly process "to ensure that our construction quality meets their

strict standards," said Quality Homes Chairman Kali Watson, attorney, former Hawaiian Homes Commission chair, and president of the non-profit Hawaiian Community Development Board, The company is contracted to

deliver 45 units constituting Phase 3 of DHHL's Kapolei subdivision, whieh is a modified self-help housing project, The 960 sq, ft, units are priced at $70,000. All units include a enclosed two-car garage, landscaping, fencing, and sprinkler system, Adjacent units in the same DHHL subdivision are valued at $140,000, while non-DHHL units that add infrastructure and land costs are selling at "easily over

$200,000," Watson said. On Sept, 6, 2001 the OHA board voted to invest $500,000 in Quality Homes in return for a 50 percent majority share of the company, Trustees responded to a critical need for affordable housing and low

rate of homeownership among Hawaiians and trustees' desire to help Hawaiians take occupancy on homestead lands by offering lowcost, high-quality manufactured hom.es that ean be assembled quickly on-site, minimizing labor costs, "This project will deliver hom.es to the Hawaiian community at very affordable rates with high quality," said Trustee Oswald Stender, Forging a unique partnership

between Hawaiian organizations for the benefit of Hawaiians, particularly hom.es teaders, the venture involves cooperation between OHA, Quality Homes, Habitat for Humanity, labor union members, and Alu Like, Native Hawaiian worker trainees at the plant are pre-building steel truss house systems from floor to roof, complete with cabinets, appliances, walls and doors, directly onto steel-framed joist systems bolted to wheeled trailers, The prebuilt sections will then be towed or shipped throughout the state, to be joined on-site and completed in as little as two weeks, At full capacity, the plant will produce 500 hom.es per year with a work force of at least 100, Watson said, The trustees recently appointed five members of the Hawai'i business community to represent OHA's interests on Quality Home's board of directors: Frank Brandt, landscape architect and chairman of PBR Hawai'i; David Hulihe'e, president of Royal Contracting Company Ltd, ; Louis Kau, real property developer and manager and president of Kamehameha īnvestment Corporation; Leatrice Kauahi, assistant vice president with City Bahk specializing in residential and project loans; and Gary Yee, architect and director of the American īnstitute of Architects, Honolulu Chapter, ■

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