What’s old is new again in Chinatown, and that could be a good thing: A private developer wants to convert the century-old Hocking Building into something akin to its original purpose — affordable housing.

The onetime boardinghouse, now a commercial property, would be converted into an apartment building with 40 units for low-income residents. Rents would range from $634 to $1,360 a month, according to the developer, Hocking Building LP.

It’s a small example of a big idea: converting a glut of unused commercial space into something that’s badly needed, namely, housing.

Expanded medical services in Leeward

Nothing quite reflects a community’s booming growth than demand for health care for its population. And more health care is just what Leeward Oahu is demanding — and what The Queen’s Medical Center-West Oahu is looking to supply with its proposed $500 million expansion.

For Queen’s, right-sizing over the next 15 years will mean quadrupling the size of its facilities — to include two new hospital towers with patient rooms (beds would increase to 364 from 104), expanding a now-overtaxed emergency department, and two new physician’s office buildings with outpatient services. All this and more will undergo a public hearing soon.