Ewa Villages affordable senior housing opens, finally

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii has finished initial apartments in a 149-unit rental complex for low-income seniors at Ewa Villages in Leeward Oahu, after a long struggle to develop the $40 million project. Tenants are expected to begin moving into the first building, with 24 units, next month.

Construction of five other buildings, each with 25 units, is slated to be done by May at a rate of roughly one building per month. The completion of Franciscan Vistas Ewa will fulfill a nearly decade-old plan by the nonprofit organization to provide affordable housing and services for Hawaii's ballooning population of seniors.

Though not an assisted-living community with medical services, the developer said Franciscan Vistas is the first affordable-housing community for seniors in Hawaii integrated with health and wellness programs such as fitness and educational activities. Read more…