Kakaako affordable rentals grow

Local residents earning no more than the median income in Honolulu have an opportunity to make Kakaako their home.

Kamehameha Schools announced Thursday that its midrise affordable rental apartment building at 440 Keawe St. now named The Flats at Pu‘unui is ready for occupancy and that qualified households can apply for leases.

Residential real estate firm Locations Property Management is accepting applications for the 88 apartments, which include 40 studios, 22 one-bedroom units, eight two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom units reserved for households earning no more than 100 percent of the median income.

The income limit equates to $70,400 for a single person, $80,400 for a couple and $100,500 for a family of four. Tenants also must meet other qualifications, which include not owning a home and having assets valued under a certain ceiling.

Monthly rental rates range from $1,375 for 369-square-foot studios to $2,400 for three-bedroom units with 915 square feet of living space. Units are pet friendly with some breed restrictions and are equipped with a refrigerator, a stove/oven and a microwave. There also are 188 parking stalls in the seven-story building for residential and commercial use.

The apartments are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants. Locations is accepting applications at its office at 614 Kapahulu Ave., Suite 102. Units are available now.

Walter Thoemmes, managing director of commercial real estate for Kamehameha Schools, said the project increases affordable housing in Honolulu’s urban core.

“There will always be a need for housing, especially for Hawaii’s hardworking families and professionals,” he said in a statement.

Flats at Pu‘unui represents a fourth piece to be finished in a Kamehameha Schools master plan to add up to 2,750 homes and 300,000 square feet of commercial space on 29 acres in Kakaako between South and Kamani streets mauka of Ala Moana Boulevard.

An initial piece was a 54-unit affordable rental building called Six Eighty Ala Moana which Kamehameha Schools converted from an old office building in 2012.

Two subsequent pieces completed were a retail complex dubbed SALT and a 95-unit condominium called 400 Keawe. Three other pieces are under construction: The Collection and Keauhou Place condo towers and a midrise rental called Keauhou Lane.

Under regulatory provisions for developing towers in Kakaako, Kamehameha Schools is required to make 20 percent of new residences affordable to moderate- or high-moderate-income households.

Flats at Pu‘unui will bring the count of affordable units delivered under the master plan to 456 out of the required 550.