Panel OKs breaks for affordable-housing building

The City Council Zoning and Planning Committee agreed Monday to grant a developer’s request for waivers and other concessions for an 128-unit affordable-housing project in the heart of the Ala Moana-Kapiolani area.

It was the second time in recent weeks that the committee has been asked to approve resolutions giving breaks in land use requirements to an affordable-housing developer in the region.

Hale Kewalo, the 11-story Stanford Carr Development that cleared the committee Monday, is a 100 percent rental project that will be aimed at those making 60 percent of Oahu area median income, $98,800 annually for a family of four in 2015.

Concessions the committee gave two weeks ago were for SamKoo Pacific LLC’s 485-unit Kapiolani Residence, situated several blocks away. It will provide 60 percent of its units in the affordable category for those making up to 120 percent of median income. The remaining 40 percent of units there will be market-priced.

The Carr project is asking for much less in overall concessions than those requested by SamKoo.

The main concession is a request that approximately $1.5 million in sewer hookup fees be deferred for a time, and some breaks in connection with building, grading and trenching fees. The SamKoo project received height, density and setback waivers, and roughly $17 million in waivers from various building processing and permitting fees.

Because the Carr project is within the Kakaako district that is the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, most of its other concessions are being given up by the state. Because it is near the city’s upcoming rail station, Carr is not required to provide any parking, but is including 77 stalls.

The resolutions for both the SamKoo and Carr projects will get a final votes of the full Council on Wednesday.

Kewalo Hale is at the makai-Ewa corner of Kona and Piikoi streets, across the street from Ala Moana Center, the state’s largest commercial mall. It will also have about 3,000 square feet of commercial space.

Christoper Oaks, Kewalo Hale project manager, said the building will house 27 one-bedroom units, 72 two-bedroom units and 29 three-bedroom units.

Ten percent of the Kewalo Hale units will be aimed at those making 30 percent of Oahu’s median income and below, which is $20,000 for a single person. Rent for those units will be about $451 a month, including utilities. A person making 60 percent of the area median income, or about $40,000, would pay about $900.

The project’s lower price points are being made possible through tax credits, tax-exempt bonds and other program money from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., as well as money from the state revolving housing trust fund, which was bolstered by a change made by the Legislature last year, Oaks said.

Just as important, the property was obtained by Carr after being set aside to meet the affordable-housing requirements of A&B Properties’ Waihonua at Kewalo project nearby.

“We do need free land, (but) free land isn’t enough,” Carr said. “It requires additional subsidies.”

Carr said he is committed to keeping the units in the affordable categories for 61 years.

Council Zoning Chairman Ikaika Anderson called Kewalo Hale “testament to what can be achieved when government and the private sector partner together.” He said he and his staff are studying an inventory list of city-owned lands that could be used by private developers.