A large donation was given to a Hilo-based nonprofit organization to expand affordable housing at an existing property, ʻOuli ʻEkahi, on Hawaiʻi Island.
The gift from Marc and Lynne Benioff includes 282 acres near Waimea given to Hawaiʻi Island Community Development Corporation solely for residential use by low and moderate-income households.
The organization said that development will start with a 43-unit self-help affordable housing project, which includes parks, community spaces and open space.
A total of $7 million was also donated by the Benioffs to facilitate site planning and infrastructure development.
This follows a previous donation of $1 million to enable HICDC to expand its capacity to help the community in other ways.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to create affordable housing for the community. The need is huge in Waimea with 30% of the community renting and 10% of those renters paying over 50% of their income for rent. That’s scary and simply not sustainable,” said HICDC Executive Director Keith Kato. “We are deeply thankful to Lynne and Marc for all the families this project will help."
“We are so thankful for the work they do on behalf of this community that we have been blessed to be part of for many years, and we are happy to be able to support it in this way," the Benioffs said in a news release.
Marc Benioff is the founder and CEO of Salesforce, a multibillion-dollar tech company based in San Francisco. The Benioffs, who have a home on the Big Island, also own Time magazine.
In a Tuesday post on X, formerly Twitter, he celebrated giving $100 million over 20 years to Hawaiʻi organizations and programs.
According to HICDC, the total number of affordable units in the ʻOuli property will ultimately depend on how much water is available.
The 282 acres can be accessed from Kawaihae Road by way of Waiula Drive, which also provides access to an existing county rental housing project.
The HICDC's Self Help Affordable Housing Program assists eligible households in obtaining a home financed by the U.S. Government or conventional lending services. Once eligible, a low-interest loan is secured for the household.
Households are grouped to create a self-help project in which all households contribute labor toward the construction of all homes in the project. Households are permitted to occupy their respective homes once all houses in the project are completed.
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