The City Council Zoning Committee gave tentative approval Monday to a developer seeking building waivers and exemptions in exchange for constructing a 45-story residential tower that will consist largely of affordable sales units.

SamKoo Pacific LLC wants to develop the 485-unit Kapiolani Residence on a 56,250-square-foot parcel at 1631 Kapiolani Blvd. The site is across the street from the Pan Am Building and within a half-mile of the planned rail line’s Ala Moana Center station.

The South Korean-based company is proposing that 292, or 60 percent, of its units be set aside for those making between 80 and 120 percent of Oahu’s median income. That’s double the number of affordable-housing units required by existing city land use rules. Current federal housing guidelines say the median income for a family of four on Oahu in 2015 is $98,800.

The remaining units are expected to be aimed at the so-called gap group housing market of families making about 140 percent of median, said project planner Lowell Chun of the group Pacific Catalyst LLC. “We intend for them to be moderately priced,” he said.

In exchange, the developer wants a host of concessions from the city, including:

>> An exemption from the 350-foot height limit for the area, in order to put up a 399.5-foot tower.

>> Exemptions from setback, density and parking requirements.

>> Waivers from various building processing and permitting fees and park dedication requirements, totaling about $17 million.

Council Resolution 15-277 was given unanimous approval by the committee Monday. A final vote from the full Council is expected next month.

Chun said the project is being built in partnership with the state Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. and its Affordable Housing Program.

The program allows for a greater density of overall and affordable-housing units, Chun said. The current business-mixed use zoning, or BMX-3, would typically allow only 297 units, he said.

“We’ve been able to achieve this while creating units (with) living accommodations that will compare favorably in space and quality with comparable projects on the market or coming into market today,” he said.

The developer is proceeding under “tight margins” and will need the concessions in order to make the project work economically, Chun told committee members.

Assuming Council approval of the resolution and other permitting processing, the developer hopes to begin construction next summer with completion sometime in 2018, Chun said.

“We’re looking at a fairly aggressive construction schedule,” he said.

“We realize that a predominantly affordable housing project on a well-located site like this goes against conventional development logic,” Chun said. But the developer and the owner want to show that affordable housing can be created in the area, he said.

The project will feature commercial uses along the street level fronting Kapiolani Boulevard that will include an outdoor, landscaped, table-and-chair plaza shaded by existing  monkeypod trees. The sidewalk will be widened, and there will be “an enhanced planting area” providing a green buffer between vehicles and pedestrians, Chun said.

There will also be public bicycle racks and private bike storage. There will be ample recreational areas that will include private cabanas, each with its own barbecue grill and grilling area.

A stand-alone parking garage on the Kona Street side of the building will hold 701 stalls, 617 of them for residents.

Main access will be from Kapiolani Boulevard via right-turn entry and exit only, with secondary access along Kona Street.

City Planning Director George Atta supported the concessions requested, noting that the project is within a half-mile of the Ala Moana Center rail station. That places it within the Transit Oriented Development area, which gives the project special considerations. The project meets two key objectives for the TOD area: affordable housing and design that encourages multiple means of transportation, he said.