State officials and developers officially opened a 42-unit senior rental housing building in Wahiawa yesterday.

The project, called 220 California after its address on California Avenue, is for seniors at least 62 years old with annual incomes ranging from $26,100 to $29,800. The one-bedroom, one-bath units have monthly rental rates of $605, including utilities and parking.

Resident Geraldine Day, a retired Las Vegas cocktail waitress who moved back to O'ahu a year ago, moved in the three-story complex July 23. Before that the 64-year-old single mother, grandmother and great-grandmother lived with her daughter and later moved in with her brother.

"Now I have a place of my own," said Day, smiling. "I don't want to move no more. This is it. I like it."

The three-story complex includes secured entries, a garden park, a picnic/barbecue area and a senior community center.

The state Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp. is providing up to $9.26 million in federal and state tax credits over 10 years to help finance the Wahiawa project.

The project, developed by California Dreaming Partnership, involved demolishing 20 old homes and duplexes that were originally on the site.

Alvin Wong, one of the general partners of California Dreaming, said the development partners were the previous landowners. The old structures, built in the 1920s, were "really run down," he said.

"There were environmental issues with respect to lead and asbestos," he said.

"Rather than maintain a building which was environmentally hazardous as well as difficult to maintain, we decided to just tear it down. ... And that's when we decided to build this project."

The project cost about $5.5 million to build, not including nearly $2 million for other costs such as architectural and legal fees, Wong said.

Gov. Linda Lingle praised the project.

"The need for affordable senior rentals will continue to escalate as our state's population ages," she said. "Thanks to the continuing collaboration between the state, private sector and government partners, we are making progress in providing affordable housing opportunities for our kupuna and families across the state."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.