A tower filled with 104 studio apartments smaller than a typical Hawaii hotel room could begin to rise next year in Kakaako as a new type of affordable housing in Honolulu.
The project featuring 300-square-foot residences mostly rented for $750 a month was selected by a state board Wednesday as the preferred plan in response to a request for proposals issued in December to build “micro unit” housing on a state-owned 10,409-square-foot lot at 630 Cooke St.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency that owns the lot and regulates development in Kakaako, issued the request in a unique attempt to help address the shortage of affordable housing in Hawaii by using a lot that represents a typical size for one single-family home.
HCDA received seven submissions. A list of finalists was narrowed to three, but one developer withdrew last week.
Agency board members selected their preferred plan in a 9-0 vote, and though they didn’t publicly discuss any reasons for their choice, they went with the proposal that offered more apartments for lower rent in a taller but less dense building.
The winning proposal came from a team that includes mainland-based companies with longstanding Hawaii affiliates.
Construction Management & Development Inc., a New York company with a Hawaii office, assembled the team led by New York-based affordable-housing development and management firm Bronx Pro Group LLC. EAH Housing, a California-based nonprofit affordable-housing developer active in Hawaii, is also part of the team along with Swinerton Builders, a California-based contractor with Hawaii operations, and Seattle architecture firm Sustainable Living Innovations LLC.
“We are very excited to be selected and look forward to working with HCDA,” said Ron Steitzer, senior project manager with CM&D.
The next step is for the developer and HCDA to negotiate a detailed development agreement. If that proceeds without difficulty, construction could start next year and take 12 months to complete.
The Bronx Pro project is called Nohona Hale and features 104 studios in a 17-story tower. Each unit has 300 square feet of living space plus a 40-square-foot balcony.
Of the 104 units, 98 would rent for a projected $750 a month and be reserved for residents earning no more than 60 percent of the annual median income in Honolulu, which equates to $40,300 for a single person. Five units would be available for $345 a month to residents earning no more than 30 percent of the median income, or $20,150. One unit would be for a manager.
Bronx Pro proposes leasing the lot at a nominal rate for 65 years, during which time affordable rents would be maintained in connection with income.
Proposed financing for the $33 million project would come from tax-exempt bonds, low-income housing tax credits and the state’s rental housing trust fund.
Scott Stay, CM&D president, told HCDA’s board that the units are very small — smaller than the average isle hotel room — but they feel bigger than they are because of features like 9-foot ceilings, storage within walls and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Stay also said interior design elements such as stone countertops, Toto plumbing fixtures and cabinets with designer quality finishes will give the units a quality of more expensive homes.
To save on building cost and time, components will be built on the mainland and shipped to Hawaii.
The only parking in the project will be eight stalls reserved for guests and staff. Secured bicycle parking and surfboard storage are included in common areas.
Bronx Pro’s proposal beat out a bid by Mutual Housing Association of Hawaii. A third finalist, Stanford Carr Development, withdrew from the selection process.
Mutual Housing, a local nonprofit, had proposed a $27 million project with 93 studios in a 12-story building. Units ranged from 310 square feet to 351 square feet.
Projected monthly rents were between $840 and $870 for 83 units reserved for residents earning up to 60 percent of the median income, $714 for five units for residents earning up to 50 percent of the median income and $379 for five units for residents earning up to 30 percent of the median income.
The Mutual Housing proposal had a similar parking and bike plan, a 65-year lease and also was going to be built using modular construction.
A couple differences with Mutual Housing’s proposal involved a lease premium and higher building density.
Mutual Housing offered to pay HCDA $400,000 at the start of construction as a lease premium, while the amount of floor area in the building in relation to the lot size was more than HCDA rules allow. The floor area was 4.7 times the lot size, compared with 3.5 allowed by HCDA.
Arnold Imaoka, a retired HCDA planner, offered the only public comment on the agency’s micro unit effort before a selection was made. He recalled living in 1979 in a 265-square-foot studio created in remnant carport space of a McCully home. “I would have loved this project to be built 35 years ago,” he said. “I’m kind of all for it.”
