Community opposes revised Halawa high-rise plan

For the second time in as many months, a developer failed to win community support for a predominantly affordable high-rise housing project planned for the area near Aloha Stadium.

Halawa View Housing Partners LP scaled back the size of its project by reducing the number of homes and tower heights and increasing the amount of parking. But that didn’t satisfy area residents at an Aiea Neighborhood Board meeting last week, and the board again deferred taking a position on the plan.

The original plan was presented at the board’s January meeting where consultant Keith Kurahashi of local planning firm RM Towill Corp. explained that the project aimed to exceed density and height limits under either state affordable-housing rules or an expanded city transit-oriented development zone near a rail station site next to the stadium.

The developer had initially proposed building 524 homes among a 276-foot tower and a 250-foot tower next to the existing Halawa View Apartments complex of low-income rental homes, which includes a roughly 140-foot building and two three-story buildings.

A 150-foot height limit applies to the site, which borders a condominium tower, low-rise apartments and a single-family home subdivision.

The revised plan calls for 458 homes among three towers of 211, 220 and 229 feet.

Another change provides more parking. The initial plan included 652 stalls, which was less than a city minimum and equated to 1.2 stalls per residence. The revised plan has 658 stalls, which meets city requirements and equates to 1.4 stalls per residence.

Overloaded street parking has been the biggest concern for residents in the adjacent neighborhood, and they weren’t appeased by the amended plan.

“We have a neighborhood that is choked out already with cars,” said Douglas Torres. “It’s like game day at the stadium every day.”

Torres said he believed tower occupants would have two cars on average, leaving 258 cars competing for street parking. “We need to hold fast and vote no on this thing,” he said.

Torres, who drew applause from the audience and said he gathered 176 signatures on a petition opposing the project, told board members they should walk through his neighborhood before they take a position on the plan.

Several other attendees complained about parking, including one woman who declined to give her name but said she has been blocked into her own driveway. A few others said they support affordable housing but that it should be built elsewhere.

“You’re just squeezing us out,” said Karen Rodrigues, a resident near the project site.

Kurahashi said the developer adjusted the plan to address community concerns, and affordable housing aimed at local households earning as little as 30 percent of Honolulu’s median income is a worthy public benefit that also would help generate more rail ridership given the property’s half-mile distance from the station site.

“(The developer) has a good project,” he said. “It’s going to have great, affordable rates.”

Kurahashi said 300 of the 458 homes would be rented for 45 years at rates affordable to people earning no more than 60 percent of Hono­lulu’s annual median income. Currently this equates to $49,020 for a single person and $69,960 for a family of four.

Maximum monthly rents including utilities would be $1,225 for studios, $1,312 for one-bedroom units and $1,575 for two-bedroom units based on the income limit. Additionally, most of the apartments would rent for less than that and be reserved for people earning up to 50 percent of the median income. Some 16 units would be reserved for households earning up to 30 percent of the median income and feature maximum rents of $612 for studios, $656 for one-bedroom units and $787 for two-bedroom units.

The other 158 homes would likely be condos for sale at market rates, Kurahashi said.

Carl Cunningham, an official with the local affordable-housing firm Mark Development, which is a partner in the project, said at Monday’s meeting that a shortage of street parking is a problem in the neighborhood but that the shortage of affordable housing for the broader community is a bigger problem.

“You guys got housing,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that need housing.”

Joe Michael, president of the project partnership’s principal firm, based in California, Pacific Development Group, said in a statement that his team put a lot of work into the amended plan.

“We listened to what the community shared, took their input to heart, met with City Council member for the district, Joey Manahan, and together drafted a new plan reflective of the neighborhood concerns,” he said. “We are very excited to provide a quality development that offers affordable housing options and other community benefits for local people. We also hope this project will be a catalyst for the Halawa area (transit-oriented development) plan to transform the area into a vibrant and walkable community.”

To provide the low-income rentals, the developer plans to apply for tax credits and other assistance from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., a state agency that helps produce affordable housing and can provide zoning exemptions.

Support from a neighborhood board helps such projects obtain tax credits. Kurahashi said if the tax credits can’t be obtained, the developer intends to adjust the plan to provide more market-priced homes but still qualify as an affordable-housing project under HHFDC rules that allow zoning exemptions.

The board asked Kurahashi to come back a third time with another response from the developer. Kurahashi said he would explore it but also indicated it might not be productive.