Developer pulls petition over affordable units after criticism

Ward Village developer Howard Hughes Corp. has temporarily withdrawn a petition that had sought to clarify whether the company can satisfy a state affordable-housing requirement by producing fewer such homes if they remain affordable for longer.

The company petitioned the Hawaii Community Development Authority to decide the issue, and the agency had scheduled a public decision-making hearing for Wednesday.

That hearing is now canceled.

Hughes Corp. drew some criticism about the move after the Honolulu Star-Advertiser published a story on Friday, a day after the company submitted its petition.

Race Randle, senior director of development at Hughes Corp. in Hawaii, issued a statement that said: "Due to the misunderstanding of our request, we have decided to temporarily withdraw it so that we can further clarify our intentions to the appropriate stakeholders."

Hughes Corp. asked the HCDA, the state agency regulating development in Kakaako, to clarify whether developers can satisfy affordable-housing rules by making rental units available to moderate-income households for twice as long as required in return for building perhaps half as many affordable units.

Part of the HCDA’s rule for affordable housing says 20 percent of high-rise condominium units developed in Kakaako must be affordable to residents earning no more than 140 percent of the annual median income in Honolulu, which equates to $80,948 for a single person or $115,640 for a family of four.

Developers also may satisfy the rule with rental units affordable to residents earning no more than 100 percent of the median income, or $57,820 for a single person or $82,600 for a family of four, for at least 15 years.

Hughes Corp. wanted to know whether it could build fewer than 20 percent affordable rental units if it kept the units affordable for 30 years.

Hughes Corp. has been approval to build one tower with 375 moderate-priced condo units, but was interested in converting the units to rental apartments.

The company said it has no intention to reduce the number of moderate-priced units in the tower at 988 Halekauwila St.

The developer’s Ward Village master plan calls for up to 4,300 homes in 22 towers on 65 acres covered by Ward Centers. Two luxury towers are approved and undergoing sales. The third tower with moderate-priced units had not begun sales, and the units with moderate prices represented about 9 percent, or just under half, of HCDA’s affordable-housing requirement for Ward Village.