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Groundbreaking of the Pokai Bay Project by Self-Help Housing Corporation of Hawaii
National Rural Housing Coalition member organization, Self-Help Housing Corporation of Hawaii (SHHCH) hosted a ground breaking ceremony on June 21, 2017 in Waianae. Twelve families are set to begin construction on their new homes, and once the Pokai Bay Project is completed, there will be 70 Mutual Self-Help built homes in the community.
Typical home to be built at the Pokai Bay Self-Help Housing Project
SHHCH is a nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance to low-income families in Hawaii that enables the families to build their own homes through the team self-help housing method. Over the past 52 years, SHHCH has helped families develop 656 homes in Hawaii with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Mutual Self-Help Housing program.
With the Mutual Self-Help Housing program, teams of 6 to 12 families are paired together to help build each other’s homes. With SHHCH, each family contributes 16 hours of labor each weekend over the course of a year to complete construction. No family moves in until all of the homes for the group are completed. SHHCH works with the families to secure the necessary financing from the government, including the Section 502 Direct Home Loan program, other nonprofit organizations, and private lenders. The families earn “sweat equity” by working to build their own homes the, thereby reducing purchase and construction costs.
Mutual Self-Help Housing is an innovative and essential program for low-income families across America. Because the families are able to earn sweat equity, families earning under 80 percent of the area median (AMI) income are able to become homeowners. In fact, in the Waianae community, 58 of the 70 self-help homes will be specified for families earning 80 percent of the AMI and 12 homes will be for families earning 50 percent of the AMI. The median price for a previously-owned home on Oahu is $745,000. Comparatively, these self-help families will purchase their homes in fee-simple for $295,000.
SHHCH purchased the land that the 70 homes will sit on in 2013 for $6.2 million, including $3.1 million from the Hawaii Housing Finance Development Corporation. In addition, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation contributed $3.2 million and the Housing Assistance Council contributed $2.5 million.
Attendees at the ground breaking included Hawaii State Senator Maile Shimabukuro; Hawaii State Representative Cedric Gates; SHHCH Construction Supervisor Joseph Ching; Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation Development Manager Rick Prahler; SHHCH Executive Director Claudia Shay; Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation Executive Director Craig Hirai representing Governor David Ige; and Sandeth “Ali” Sek representing U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard.
Governor Ige, the Hawaii State House of Representatives, and Representative Gabbard all presented certificates in recognition of the project.
For more information on this project, please see Andrew Gomes’ article, Ohana homebuilding project breaks ground in Waianae, in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
For more information about the Self-Help Housing Corporation of Hawaii, please contact Claudia Shay, Executive Director, at selfhelphawaii@gmail.com.
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