Proposed Ala Moana-area condo would include affordable units

A proposed 41-story mixed-use residential building at Makaloa and Keeaumoku streets is the latest Ala Moana-area project to seek approval from the Honolulu City Council.

ProsPac Holdings Group wants to develop 425 condominium units atop a two-story commercial plaza where there are now several aging, low-rise commercial buildings populated by restaurants and retailers.

What makes this proposal different from other recent tower plans in the Kapiolani-Keeaumoku area is that ProsPac wants to fulfill its affordable-housing requirement by incorporating 78 affordable rental units within the same building.

ProsPac officials said they are planning for the affordable units to be aimed at those families at or below 80 percent of Oahu’s area median income as determined by federal housing guidelines.

A family of four making 80 percent or less of AMI in 2017 is earning no more than $83,700 annually, a couple no more than $67,000 and a single person a maximum of $58,600.

A public hearing on the proposal and ProsPac’s request for two relevant permits will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Mission Memorial Auditorium. Acting Planning Director Kathy Sokugawa is expected to make a recommendation to the Council on whether to grant the permits and, if so, what conditions to impose. The Council has the final say on transit-related development applications.

The project is within a quarter-mile of the upcoming Ala Moana station for the city’s 20-mile rail line, and the city is planning special Transit Oriented Development neighborhood regulations to encourage growth around the rail hubs. Until then the city is considering so-called interim planned development-transit permits for those who want build higher and at a greater density than typically allowed.

ProsPac wants to build to 400 feet in height, up from the 250 feet allowed under the current Land Use Ordinance, and a floor-to-area ratio about four times what’s now allowed.

ProsPac Assistant Project Manager Daniel Simonich said the project incorporates the three key principles of the proposed Ala Moana TOD guide: diversity of housing, open space and a mix of commercial uses.

How to blend affordable and market-priced units into the same complex has been a much-discussed issue in both the Kapiolani and Kakaako regions since expensive maintenance fees could sometimes prove too daunting for some.

“We tried to have (the affordable units) be part of the same building, but separated, so that some of the affordable tenants won’t necessarily have to bear those costs of the maintenance fees,” Simonich said.

As a result, amenities available to the market unit dwellers — such as the pool deck, cabanas, a fitness center, theater and dog park — won’t be available to those in the affordable units.

“We feel like the whole neighborhood is an amenity,” Simonich said, noting the project’s close proximity to Ala Moana Center, Ala Moana Beach Park and the rail hub.

The two floors of commercial space will provide about 30,000 square feet of restaurants, retailers and related uses in an area with high pedestrian traffic. Also planned is about 11,000 square feet of public open space, a corner plaza. In speaking with city officials, “the No. 1 feedback we got was that to try and make it not just a passive green space, but really a highly usable urban park,” Simonich said.

“It’s a very walkable neighborhood … so we want to bring all these international brands as well as local (boutiques),” said William Chen, ProsPac assistant director.

Planned are 600 parking stalls, more than what is being proposed in the Ala Moana TOD but less than required under the existing ordinance, along with 100 bicycle stalls. There will be a large focus on multimodal transportation options, and both car-sharing and bike-sharing opportunities will be incorporated, Simo­nich said.

The project is the first to be developed in Hawaii by ProsPac, which is headed by Xianxin Chen, William Chen’s father, a businessman and founding shareholder in the Shanghai HuaRui bank, the first private bank in Shanghai. Pros­Pac and the Chens also own holdings in China, Canada and Singapore, according to the ProsPac website.

The Chen family has been spending its annual summer holidays in Honolulu, loves it here and has been looking for investment opportunities, William Chen said. “We felt this was a great way of contributing to Hawaii,” he said, referring to the Makaloa project. Pros­Pac wants to participate in other Hawaii development projects beyond this one, he said.