Editorial: A few more affordable units

It is with much hope that we watched the first homeowners in a 485-unit condo tower start to move in this week.

The majority of units in The Kapiolani Residence mauka of Ala Moana Center are in the affordable range, a needed supply given the high demand among Honolulu’s working-class families. Most units sold for under $590,000, with the top unit costing $989,500 — not too bad for Oahu, considering the new tower’s location in the urban core.

Further, the high-rise by SamKoo Pacific set aside 292 units for households that earn 80 to 120 percent of Honolulu’s median household income — which worked out to prices between $270,800 and $589,900, ranging from studios up to three-bedroom units. As evidence of the strong demand for this price range: a lottery for those 292 units drew 900 applicants.

Delivering these units and maintaining the project’s relative affordability, however, does come at a community cost: SamKoo was approved to build its tower taller and denser than zoning rules allowed in exchange for keeping 60 percent of units at below-market prices. The developer also received breaks on state general excise taxes and city permit fees.

The occupancy of Kapiolani Residence was just one recent point in urban Oahu’s housing spectrum, coming mere days after the opening of Ae‘o in Kakaako: 466 units, not so affordable but still selling out at $1 million average. And then there was this: An ultraluxe penthouse condo at the nearby Park Lane Ala Moana condo, selling for a whopping $23.5 million.