Waimanu midrise condo finally approved

It took two redesigns and reducing the building’s height by 20 stories, but developer Franco Mola finally got the OK from a state agency to put up a condominium at 803 Waimanu St. in Kakaako.

Board directors of the Hawaii Community Development Authority gave the project — a seven-story condo with 153 mostly studio units — unanimous approval Wednesday despite opposition from many residents in a neighboring condo tower.

"This has been a long, arduous project for us," Mola said at a public hearing before the agency’s 7-0 vote. "It’s not what we wanted, but we can live with the result."

Mola initially proposed 803 Waimanu last May as a 27-story tower with 192 units — a plan that drew heavy opposition because the tower would have been taller and closer to the adjacent Imperial Plaza tower than permitted by HCDA rules.

The developer sought exemptions from height and spacing rules as a trade-off for making all the units affordable to moderate-income buyers under provisions of HCDA "workforce housing" rules.

HCDA rules allow such trade-offs to be considered for qualified affordable-housing projects that don’t use government financing, but agency board members gave the initial plan a negative reception in July after receiving 1,239 comments against the project compared with 364 in support.

Mola reworked 803 Waimanu to conform with all HCDA standards, including the 65-foot height limit for the parcel. As a midrise, the building can abut the property line under HCDA rules and county building and fire codes.

Neighboring condo owners, especially ones living in a mid-rise portion of Imperial Plaza, continued to oppose the revised project over its proximity.

Eddie Johnson, an architect and Imperial Plaza resident, suggested that 803 Waimanu would be better if it rose only 45 feet. "This is not about a million-dollar view, because I don’t have one," he said. "It’s about primary living spaces facing each other."

Other opponents have expressed concerns about traffic impacts and the adequacy of infrastructure such as sewer capacity.

Anthony Ching, HCDA executive director, said infrastructure is adequate for 803 Waimanu and noted that the city has approved a sewer connection permit. He also said the developer has produced a traffic impact analysis concluding that there will be no significant impacts.

Only four people testified in person at Wednesday’s hearing to express concerns or opposition. Since an initial public hearing on the revised plan in November, HCDA received 118 written comments opposing the project compared with eight in support.

Mola said he spent considerable money to redesign the project, at one point flipping the orientation of the mid-rise based on input from Imperial Plaza. The higher floors of 803 Waimanu are also stepped back so that living spaces are farther away from Imperial Plaza.

"I think we designed a building that one, meets the rules, and two, is a good neighbor," he said.

Mola said units should be available for sale likely in late spring with construction starting in the summer.

Unit prices haven’t been disclosed, but are intended to be affordable to people earning no more than 120 percent of Honolulu’s median income, which equates to about $82,320 for a single person or $94,080 for a couple.