LIHU'E – A ground-breaking ceremony was held yesterday for the the second affordable housing project planned for Kauai Lagoons on Haoa Street in Lihu'e.

Thirty-one, two-bedroom, multi-family units will be built at the site and are scheduled to be available for sale upon completion in February 2009, county officials said.

Kaua'i Lagoons' other affordable housing project, Courtyards at Waipouli, is slated for completion in June.

"We are pleased that more affordable housing projects are coming to fruition," Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said in a news release. "This is another example of what can be accomplished when partnerships aimed at meeting the housing needs of our workforce are formed between developers and the county."

Carvalho said other affordable housing projects are moving forward, as well, including:

• Kalepa Village, phase IV - Forty rental units will be available upon completion next month. The deadline to submit an application to the Kalepa Village management office located at 4535 Kalepa Circle is 5 p.m. this Friday.

• Puhi Self-Help Project – The first and second phases are under construction and are expected to be completed by early next year. This will add 28 homes to Kaua'i's inventory.

• Pi'ilani Mae Ke Kai – Eighty lots are being built by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in this Anahola subdivision. Home construction is slated for 2009.

• 'Ele'ele I Luna, phase II – Received tentative subdivision approval for the first increment of 34 lots with construction expected to begin in 2010. Homebuilding for the second and third increments, 45 and 27 lots respectively, will continue through 2018.

Anyone interested in purchasing a home should sign up for a free home ownership orientation class, said the mayor.

"The class will give them a basic understanding of what's involved with buying a home, so when these projects come on-line, hopefully, they'll be ready to apply," said the mayor.

To register for a home ownership orientation class, please call the Hawai'i Home Ownership Center at 245-5860 or toll free, 1-877-523-9503.

For more information about affordable housing on Kaua'i, call the County Housing Agency at 241-4444.