While `O`oma was conceived and planned to provide a diversity of housing choices for local residents, as well as be consistent and serve to implement the community's Kona Community Development Plan, `O`oma provides another important benefit ... LOCAL JOBS.

 `O`oma is expected to support a total of approximately 330 full-time equivalent (FTE) construction jobs in an average year during its build-out between 2010 and 2030.

 This equates to 330 local jobs in the construction industry in Kona working full time over the next 20 years. (Approximately 95% of Kona's union carpenters are currently out of work to put this into perspective.)

 In addition, `O`oma could be expected to directly generate 480 permanent, local jobs, most of them on site when this local housing project is completed.

  `O`oma is expected to create 200 new full time jobs (ones that would not have existed if `O`oma had not been developed) are expected. These are direct-impact support positions only and most would be within the County of Hawaii.

  The County of Hawaii's median household family income in 2008 was $51,402 (US Census QuickFacts).  It is estimated that `O`oma could generate earnings of $57,000 per each fulltime equivalent job.

In light of the economic hardships many local families are facing, `O`oma is the right project, in the right place, being developed at the right time.