Nareit Hawaii Donates $130K For Affordable Housing

The nonprofit Kaua‘i Housing Development Corporation was awarded a $130,000 grant from the Nareit Hawai‘i Community Giving Initiative to support the building of a new affordable home for a family on Kaua‘i.

Located at 3310 Kanakolu Street in Līhu‘e, the new four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is under construction and will provide a family with a living space of 1,465 square feet on a lot measuring 3,414 square feet. The home is located next to Isenberg Park and the Līhu‘e Neighborhood Center, offering the family convenient access to sports fields, a playground, open spaces, and community activities.

“The Kaua‘i Housing Development Corporation is truly fortunate and blessed with a most generous donation from the Nareit Foundation,” said Tom Shigemoto, president of the KHDC board of directors, in a news release on the contribution. “This gift will go a long way in assisting KHDC to provide a home for a deserving Kaua‘i family. We cannot begin to express how appreciative we are for benefactors like Nareit, who share our vision of providing affordable housing.”

A video of the presentation is here.

The grant was made possible by donations from REITs in Hawai‘i to the Nareit Foundation, a Section 501(c)(3) organization.

Shigemoto noted that, along with the Nareit Foundation, providing a new, affordable single-family home was a collaborative effort supported by Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, which offered a discount on the land sale, and the County of Kaua‘i Housing Agency, which granted an affordable housing designation resulting in lower fee waivers and exemptions.

Nareit Hawai‘i Executive Director Gladys Quinto Marrone presented the $130,000 grant to KHDC on behalf of the Nareit Foundation and REITs in Hawai‘i.

“Supporting workforce housing for families is vital to the future of our communities and a priority for our charitable giving program to nonprofits,” said Marrone. “We appreciate the tremendous effort put forth by the Kaua‘i Housing Development Corporation to establish these partnerships that make a new home in Lihue affordable for a family that will ultimately make the community stronger overall.”

Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami, a strong advocate for affordable, workforce housing on Kaua‘i participated in the grant award presentation.

“Without question, the need for affordable housing on Kaua‘i remains a high priority for us all,” said Mayor Kawakami. “We are grateful to the Nareit Foundation and REITs in Hawai‘i for supporting nonprofit affordable housing initiatives that will benefit our families in need. This incredible effort towards building our affordable housing inventory shows the importance of public-private partnerships in our community, and we thank everyone involved for making this dream a reality here on Kaua‘i.”

Alexander & Baldwin, a REIT whose contribution to the Nareit Foundation helped fund the grant for KHDC, also participated in the grant award presentation.