A $1.3 billion high-rise tower development replacing a low-income housing project in Kalihi will have nearly seven times the number of rental apartments, but only 15 percent will be reserved for families who qualify for public housing and 8 percent will go to Section 8 voucher holders.

Of the proposed 2,500-unit development on the 15-acre site of Mayor Wright Homes, 34 percent will be rented at fair-market rent, while 43 percent are classified as “affordable,” going to renters making 120 percent of the area median income (AMI) and below, the Hawaii Public Housing Authority said.

(A single person earning $60,600 makes 100 percent of the AMI, as does a family of four with an income of $86,600. The fiscal year 2018 fair-market rent for an urban Honolulu two-bedroom unit is $1,893.)

Officials for the housing authority and Hunt Development Corp. on Friday signed a master development agreement, allowing the development team led by Texas-based Hunt to move forward with the mixed-use project, which includes grocery and convenience stores.

HPHA Executive Director Hakim Ouansafi said the 364 units at Mayor Wright are federally funded, and the number of units cannot, by law, be increased, and can be replaced only one-for-one. Mayor Wright is one of the oldest and largest low-income public housing properties in the public housing portfolio, he said.

Ouansafi described the redevelopment as an “exceptional opportunity to transform an existing low-density public housing property into a modern mixed-use, mixed-income, transit- oriented community.”

Steve Colon, president of the Hawaii division for Hunt, said it took three years to reach the point of signing the development agreement, in a long and complex process, working with the city and the state.

Current tenants will be housed at other state housing projects as the project is expected to be completed in 10 years.

Public housing renters have an income of 30 percent of AMI ($22,000 for an individual) or less.

Ouansafi said the housing authority is working to increase the number of homes by up to 13,200 units along the rail line by developing 10 properties identified for redevelopment. They include School Street (300 to 800 units), the Terraces at Kuhio Park (197 units), Waipahu (1,000 units) and other areas, but it’s unclear whether they would all be dedicated to public housing units.

State taxpayers are expected to foot 20 percent of the $1.3 billion cost of Mayor Wright, requiring the development team to seek funding from the state Legislature. The remainder of the money comes from a number of different sources, both public and private, including grants from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Colon said.

The development team anticipates construction to begin in 2019.