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Expect lively debate Wednesday when the owners of Ala Moana Center present to a Honolulu City Council committee their plan for a 40-story, 583-unit rental tower on the makai, Diamond Head corner of Piikoi and Kona streets.
The 1.8-acre site is currently the home of a small commercial complex that houses, among other things, Nijiya Market and Eggs ‘n Things. The location is considered part of the 56.4-acre Ala Moana property.
The Ala Moana Plaza by Brookfield Properties calls for 124 of the units, or about 20%, to be rented to those making no more the 80% of area median income for a minimum of 30 years. The Department of Planning and Permitting, in its recommendation to the Council, said it wants the “affordability” period extended to 45 years, and that’s the term in the resolution that was submitted.
Resolution 20-315, a request for an Interim Planned Development — Transit (IPD-T) permit, will get its first airing before the Council Zoning, Planning and Housing Committee at its meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
A key variance sought by Brookfield is the ability to build up to 400 feet in height, four times the 100-foot height limit allowed under the property’s current zoning. Additionally, Brookfield wants to be able to build to a density of 7.0 floor area ratio from the existing 2.5 floor area ratio and seeks exemptions from height setback, landscaping and parking requirements typical for the community business mixed-use zoning designation it now holds.
Floor area ratio is the measurement of a building’s floor area in relation to the size of the lot where the building is located. If a one-story building covers the entire lot, it has a FAR of 1.0. A FAR of 7.0 means the building will be seven times the size of the lot.
The developer estimates the value of the exemptions at $21.5 million.
Such exemptions are available through an IPD-T permit process because the property is a mere 180 feet away from the planned final station of the city’s now $11 billion-plus rail line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana. The station is being planned for a property at Kona and Kona Iki streets. The Council has yet to approve uniform guidelines for transit- oriented development in the Ala Moana area, thus the need for “interim” permits.
In exchange, Brookfield proposed designating roughly 20% as affordable- housing units for those making 80% AMI or less. Under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2020 guidelines, 80% AMI means a single person making no more than $70,560; a couple earning a maximum of $80,640; a three-person family, $90,720; and for a four-member family, $100,720.
Using 30% of income as a general guideline for housing, rents in 2020 dollars would need to be no more than $1,764 for a studio, $1,890 for a one-bedroom unit, $2,268 for a two-bedroom dwelling and $2,619 for a three-bedroom unit.
The project is already generating a lot of public comment. On Sept. 22 the Ala Moana-Kakaako Neighborhood Board adopted a resolution that, among other things, urges the Council to cap the building’s height at 250 feet and that the units designated as “affordable” be required to stay in that pricing range for 99 years.
The board also asked that the Council “ensure that the (tower) will not impact the views and visibility of traffic or surrounding facilities during the peak sunlight hours,” according to a staff report DPP Acting Director Kathy Sokugawa issued to the Council on Nov. 13.
Sokugawa’s report also noted that approximately 70 people attended an initial public hearing that DPP held Sept. 30. Ten people gave oral testimony, DPP Acting Director Kathy Sokugawa said in a Nov. 13 report to the Council.
“Testifiers expressed concerns about view planes, traffic, pedestrian safety, general impacts of increased density on infrastructure, and impact on private property values; and support for the creation of more affordable housing and jobs,” Sokugawa said.
In subsequent written testimony, 106 correspondences were received in support to the project, and 49 pieces were in opposition.
A petition opposing the project was signed by 244 people from the nearby Moana Pacific condominium complex.
In addition to the 459 market-rate units, the project calls for 1,570 square feet of commercial space.
Correction: The planned Ala Moana Tower is a rental building, not a condominium, as stated in an earlier version of this story and its headline. Additionally, 106 correspondences were received in support of the project and 49 in opposition. Those numbers were transposed in an earlier version.
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