Senior housing tower ready to rise in Chinatown

More than 150 senior households with low incomes should be calling Chinatown home two years from now at a soon-to-rise rental apartment tower on city land.

The developer of the long-planned $93 million project called Halewai‘olu Senior Residences held a groundbreaking and blessing ceremony Tuesday on the site near a mauka edge of Chinatown fronting River Street.

The ceremony took place six years after the city selected New Jersey-based The Michaels Organization to produce the 156-unit tower.

“It’s been a while,” said state Rep. Sharon Har, a Michaels consultant who led the ceremony, attended by close to 100 people. “It takes a while to build affordable housing in Hawaii.”

Halewai‘olu represents the second of two plans to shelter a needy population on the site of a deteriorating two-story commercial building the city acquired in 1992.

The first plan arose in 2009 aiming to serve the area’s chronically homeless population with 100 rental apartments, but city officials called off that project in the face of heavy community opposition.

City administrators in 2014 solicited developer interest to build apartments for low-income kupuna households, and Michaels was selected in 2015 over one competing bidder.

Since then the developer endured early delays over community concerns, worked to arrange financing mostly through the state, saw its project cost nearly double, negotiated a development agreement with the city and most recently overcame opposition from local Chinese cultural society Lum Sai Ho Tong Hawaii after revised project designs moved the tower closer to the society’s historic Tin Hau Temple next door.

Lum Sai Ho Tong expressed concern that the tower’s position would redirect emissions from a neighboring crematorium onto its property, but the Honolulu City Council also heard testimony rebutting the society’s claims along with general support and gave final approval to the project earlier this year.

“This was hard,” Council Chairman Tommy Waters said at Tuesday’s event. “I’m so happy to be here today because it’s happening. We’re building kupuna housing.”

Gov. David Ige said developing affordable housing in Hawaii has been his top priority since he was elected as the state’s chief executive, and that it continues to be a challenge.

“Our people here need help,” he said.

Ige praised Halewai‘olu for being reserved mostly for seniors, age 62 and up, who earn no more than 60% of Oahu’s median household income.

This limit currently equates to $50,760 for a single person or $58,020 for a couple. Some units also will be available to households earning no more than 30% of the median income, and some earning up to 80%.

Monthly rents at Halewai‘olu are projected to mainly range from around $550 to $2,000 for units with one or two bedrooms. Amenities planned in the 17-story tower include a social activities center, social services office, courtyard, community garden and dog park.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who took office this year and supported the Halewai‘olu plan, thanked many others involved over the years.

“I know it took a lot of people to make this happen,” he said.

In addition to work by city officials and the developer’s team, a state agency that helps produce affordable housing, the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., authorized roughly $90 million in tax-exempt bonds, a loan and tax credits to finance the project, which is also being supported by private lenders.

Under the development agreement with the city, Michaels will own and operate Halewai‘olu for 65 years with potential for a 10-year extension, after which the city would assume ownership.

Michaels is not yet taking applications, but the company is compiling an interest list from folks who call its Honolulu office and want to become Halewai‘olu residents.

The company expects demolition work to begin in a couple of weeks and that it will take two years to finish the tower.