Compromise reached over Mana‘olana high-rise

The Honolulu City Council will take a final vote on a 400-foot condominium-hotel tower across from the Hawai‘i Convention Center next week after a compromise was reached Wednesday on the amount of affordable housing the developer must provide.

Under a new draft of Resolution 16-172, Mana‘olana Partners will “partner with a city or state public housing development agency to provide at least 20 rental housing units” that meet affordable housing requirements within 1 mile of the upcoming Ala Moana rail transit station, or contribute the monetary equivalent of 20 rental units up to $3 million that is to be deposited into the city’s Housing Development Special Fund.

The compromise was crafted by Council Zoning Chairman Trevor Ozawa, Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga, their staffs and developer representatives to address public concerns that the 16 units or $2.4 million in cash in-lieu fees provided in the previous draft was insufficient to put a dent in the city’s housing crunch.

The new language was approved by the Zoning and Planning Committee on Wednesday and will be up for a final vote on Oct. 5.

The resolution grants development bonuses that allow the project to be built higher, at a greater density and with less parking than existing zoning allows for the site. Plans call for 109 residential units, 125 hotel rooms and a street-level commercial plaza on two properties that now house a 7-Eleven and several other restaurants, bars and stores at the busy Atkinson Drive-Kapiolani Boulevard intersection.