Two- and three-bedroom apartments on Oahu for rent under $1,000 are rare, but a batch of them has hit the market in Waianae.

A nonprofit developer recently completed 132 apartments that make up the second phase of Hale Wai Vista where monthly rents range from $806 to $964.

The $85 million project developed with state, county and federal assistance is helping reduce a chronic shortage of affordable housing for low-income residents, and is the latest government-assisted rental complex to come out of a pipeline that often moves slowly.

A dedication ceremony attended by government leaders and project officials was held Thursday.

"The affordable-housing shortage can’t be resolved overnight, but projects like this make a difference for families and communities throughout the island," Mayor Peter Carlisle said Thursday in a statement. "The 132 units that we are dedicating today offer Leeward Coast families a future in which they can afford a place of their own to call home."

Hale Wai Vista II apartments are available to families with incomes between 30 percent and 60 percent of Honolulu’s median income, which equates to between $29,760 and $59,520 based on a federal calculation for a family of four.

About 40 tenants have moved in. Other units are still available to rent.

Hale Wai Vista II’s opening follows an 84-unit first phase completed in early 2009.

The two phases of the 216-unit complex behind Waianae Mall had been in the works for at least five years, but delays arose with zoning, permitting, financing and community opposition to building height.

Hawaii Housing Development Corp., a nonprofit, developed the project with about $66 million in government financing, including roughly $30 million in federal and state tax credits, a $16 million loan from the state’s Rental Housing Trust Fund, a $16 million federal stimulus grant and $3 million in federal funds allocated by the city. Central Pacific Bank and Bank of Hawaii also made loans of $17 million and $3 million, respectively.

Also playing a key role was the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., a state agency that approved and helped arrange much of the government financing.

Because of the government funding, affordable rental rates will continue at Hale Wai Vista for at least 60 years.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who attended the event with Carlisle, said the project is a great example of the private sector partnering with state, federal and city governments. "We have to continue to find ways to make it feasible for private developers to invest in the people of Hawaii," he said in a statement.

Hale Wai Vista II is the 10th project built by Hawaii Housing Development, which will continue pursuing such projects. "We appreciate the government support we receive on our projects," Randy Moore, company chairman, said in a statement.

The state’s Housing Finance and Development Corp., which also can provide land for affordable housing and money to rehabilitate existing units, has a plan to facilitate the delivery or preservation of roughly 5,000 work-force and affordable-housing units over the next five years, including 3,771 units in the next two years.

The agency said producing 3,771 units will generate 3,043 direct jobs and 4,497 indirect jobs.

Since its inception in 2006, the agency has delivered 3,890 work-force or affordable-housing units.