Photo courtesy of St. Francis Healthcare System
Franciscan Sister Agnelle Ching, St. Francis Healthcare System CEO, gives the go ahead to bulldozer operator William Kauhane of Albert C. Kobayashi Inc. to begin site construction work on Franciscan Vistas Ewa, a senior independent living community, following a Jan. 21 blessing ceremony.
Work begins on St. Francis’ senior living Ewa project
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Blessed Marianne’s legacy broke new ground in Ewa last month with the start of construction of St. Francis Healthcare’s newest ministry.
To be called Franciscan Vistas Ewa, the $40 million project is a “senior independent living community” of 149 one- and two-bedroom affordable rental apartments on six acres of land on Renton Road. A community center will also be built.
At a site blessing ceremony on Jan. 21, St. Francis Healthcare CEO Sister Agnelle Ching gave the go-ahead to begin construction that day.
The planned 530- to 750-square-foot apartments will be for seniors 62 and older with household earnings up to $45,660 for a family of two, or up to 60 percent of the area median income. Rents will average $750 per month. Some apartments will be available to lower income seniors making up to 30 percent of the area median income.
The 5,000-square-foot community center will offer health, recreation, social and cultural programs and activities.
Franciscan Vistas Ewa will begin marketing the apartments in late summer. The first residents should be moving in by the end of the year. Prudential Locations is the property manager.
The planned community will also offer “Stay Healthy at Home,” St. Francis’ program that helps seniors live independently by providing a range of support, including case management, transportation, chore services, meal preparation, and advance life planning.
“Franciscan Vistas Ewa is an expression of our commitment to serve Hawaii’s seniors, bringing together affordable housing and access to health care,” said Sister Agnelle.
In a news release she gave credit to “partners who share our vision” — government agencies and private developers and contractors who worked on the project.
These include the City and County of Honolulu, the state’s Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s CDBG/HOME program.
Wells Fargo Bank, Alliant Capital Ltd., American Savings Bank, and CUSO of Hawaii Services, LLC, are its private lenders and investors.
The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Rural Community Assistance Corporation and Bank of Hawaii provided predevelopment financing.
The design and construction team includes architecture by Alakea Design Group, site work by Albert C. Kobayashi Inc. building by Coastal Construction Co., Inc., and landscaping by Royal Contracting Company.
Stanford Carr Development, LLC, is providing development consulting services.
“This is the right time to move forward because we also see the additional benefits of creating jobs in our community,” said Sister Agnelle.
St. Francis Healthcare System bought 23 acres of vacant, uncultivated land on Renton Road in Ewa Villages from the City and County of Honolulu in 2003.
A second phase of the development will include unrestricted market-rate, for-sale units (single-family cluster homes and entry-level townhomes) and an intergenerational day center. These additions will help create an integrated community with a wide range of benefits for the neighborhood.
Plans are underway to begin the next phase soon.