The owner of a new Kakaako affordable rental apartment complex is trying to drum up tenant interest this evening with live music plus free cocktails and food after slow leasing activity since August.

Development firm Gerding Edlen plans a “grand opening” from 5:30 to 9 p.m. to show off model units and amenities at Keauhou Lane, its 209-unit midrise at 502 Keawe St.

The company began accepting rental applications Aug. 18. Yet despite what industry analysts and government officials describe as great demand for affordable rentals, only 33 apartments have been filled to date. Meanwhile, the adjacent 423-unit Keauhou Place condominium tower, which opened last month, is nearly sold out.

As part of today’s event, representatives of several food establishments slated to open at Keauhou Lane next year will offer cocktail, pupu and dessert samples. Future commercial tenants participating include Down to Earth Organic and Natural, Real a Gastropub, Ya-Ya’s, Tea Time and Hibachi. The first of these tenants is expected to open by March.

“Having our tenants there will give everyone a taste of what Keauhou Lane has to offer,” Brent Gaulke, a partner at Gerding Edlen, said in a statement announcing the event.

Gerding Edlen is an Oregon-based developer that built Keauhou Lane on land owned by Kamehameha Schools and is managing the property.

Julia Razonable Albano, Gerding Edlen’s director of property management, said occupancy has been affected by a lengthy process to determine whether applicants qualify for apartments, which are restricted to residents based on income.

Of the 209 apartments, 167 are reserved for residents who earn no more than the median annual income for Honolulu households. That equates to $73,300 for a single person, $83,700 for a couple and $104,600 for a family of four.

Monthly rental rates for these units start at about $1,400 for studios with 298 to 350 square feet of living space. Rents for one-bedroom units with 451 square feet are between $1,639 and $1,764. Two-bedroom units of 632 to 745 square feet rent for $1,933 to $2,108.

Another 42 units are reserved for households earning up to 80 percent of the median income, which equates to $58,640 for a single person, $66,960 for a couple and $83,680 for a family of four. Monthly rents for these units are $1,288 for studios, $1,372 for one-bedroom units and $1,637 for two-bedroom units.

Rent does not include charges for electricity, water and sewer fees. Parking is an extra $145 a month. All the units are air-conditioned.

Because of the income limits, prospective tenants must document their finances with pay stubs, tax returns and other information that includes an accounting of other assets.

“It’s a pretty long list,” Albano said of the documentation applicants must provide. That information then has to be verified.

Given the qualification process, Albano said the pace at which apartments are being filled is close to what Gerding Edlen expected.

“We are about where we’d like to be,” she said, then added, “We’d like to be a little more ahead.”

Ricky Cassiday, a local housing market analyst who has done affordable-housing supply and demand studies for the city and developers, said demand from moderate-income residents for moderate-priced rentals is plentiful. The problem, he said, is that the hurdles can dissuade applicants.

“The people in the market are having a hard time proving all this stuff,” he said. “The stricter things become, the more distorted the market becomes. It’s really hard to qualify.”

A 2014 study Cassiday produced for the city calculated that the market for rentals in the same income and price range as Keauhou Lane included an unmet backlog of 1,822 units through 2013 and need for another 1,462 units through 2020.

Albano said about 15 to 20 people per week come to view Keauhou Lane and have given positive feedback about the units, which are small but practical, and about building amenities that include an indoor lounge, two outdoor decks with grills, and a bike storage and maintenance room. The apartment complex also straddles a pedestrian walkway designed to connect to a planned city rail station on the same block.

“I don’t think there’s a question on whether people are interested,” she said. “This location offers a lot.”