Optimism high for progress with Hawaii affordable housing

The political will and millions of dollars of funding are in place, leading to high hopes for the upcoming legislative session that Hawaii will see real progress in developing badly needed affordable housing for kupuna, working families, Native Hawaiians and young people — all who could use encouragement to stay home.

Both Democratic and Republican candidates running for nearly every political office this year cited the need for more affordable housing as both a crisis and a priority following successful efforts during the last legislative session to fund sometimes record levels of spending on housing.

Among an otherwise ambitious agenda, Gov.-elect Josh Green has made housing an early centerpiece of his upcoming administration. He won election with running mate Sylvia Luke, the outgoing chair of the House Finance Committee, who helped steer housing funding through the Legislature.

And then last week, Green and Mayor Rick Blangiardi stood shoulder to shoulder at a news conference and promised to do more for housing. Both also announced two new positions staffed by people with impressive housing backgrounds and relationships to lead the state and city efforts.

So all the pieces appear to be in place to make real progress this legislative session, said state Sen. Stanley Chang, chair of the Senate Housing Committee.

“I am optimistic,” said Chang (D, Hawaii Kai-Kahala-Kapahulu- Kaimuki). “The No. 1 issue in this election was housing. All the candidates had their housing plans and proposals. Gov.-elect Green had a very strong and detailed plan, and making the chief housing office as his first Cabinet position shows how seriously he’s taking the issue. This governor- elect is a really bold, decisive change agent and he clearly has a mandate. The voters of Hawaii have spoken that they believe this is the No. 1 issue.”

There is no shortage of hard work to do and plenty of details to be worked out, Chang said, such as the need to provide infrastructure to support housing projects.

“I’m not saying money is the answer to all of our housing problems,” Chang said. “It’s definitely not.”

Chang and others are particularly impressed with Green’s selection of Nani Medeiros as his “housing chief,” a Cabinet-level position; and Blangiardi’s choice of state Budget and Finance Director Craig Hirai to the new position of the city’s chief of affordable-housing policy and strategy. Hirai previously was executive director of the Hawaii Housing Financing and Development Corp. and co-chair of the Interagency Council for Transit-Oriented Development.

Chang said there is “no one more qualified (than Hirai) to take that position. This is exactly what Craig used to do at the state. I really appreciated his deep knowledge of the housing finance situation. He really understands it in a way that’s important for the city as it’s standing up its program.”

Medeiros is currently executive director of Home­Aid Hawaii, and worked with Green during his tenure as lieutenant governor to develop Hawaii’s first kauhale village of tiny homes to provide permanent housing for homeless people in Kalaeloa. Home­Aid Hawaii — a hui of Hawaii builders — provided labor, expertise and materials for the project.

During her previous 18 years of experience at the state Capitol, Medeiros worked with Democratic and Republican legislators and with former Gov. Linda Lingle for five years advising on housing, homelessness, transit-oriented development, human serv­ices, health and education.

Chang called Medeiros “a great listener and very intelligent. I think she’s the perfect person to carry out these bold initiatives. What’s important about Nani is that she has a wealth of experience at the Legislature and executive branch, working with both parties. She’s a doer, not just a talker. The very challenging work she did on the kauhale groundbreaking project shows she’s a doer and exactly the kind of person who can execute big ideas.”

Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii’s Public Policy Center, called Medeiros “a terrific pick,” particularly because of her bipartisan government experience and relationships and perspectives with builders and developers.

“A big part of (affordable) housing doesn’t pencil out for developers who want to build affordable housing,” Moore said. “Bringing in people from the private sector who have a deep understanding of what it takes is a great move.”

State Rep. Nadine Naka­mura, chair of the House Housing Committee, also looks to the upcoming legislative session with big hopes for progress on housing.

“I’m very optimistic that this is on the top of Gov.-elect Green’s priorities,” said Nakamura (D, Haena- Hanalei-Princeville-Anahola). “I worked very closely with Sylvia Luke on a billion dollars’ worth of affordable- housing funding last session. We’re not just saying the words that we support affordable housing, but we’re going to put the money and the resources behind it.”

She also knows Hirai and served on the board of the Hawaii Housing Financing and Development Corp.

“He understands the state perspective,” Naka­mura said. “It’s good for him to be over there (the city).”

There is no shortage of need for housing across the economic spectrum, including Green’s call for more homeless kauhale to efforts to rental apartments for middle-income residents.

This month a board overseeing the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. unanimously approved $142 million in low-interest state loans to subsidize financing costs for 759 apartments for four planned housing projects for middle-income rental apartments.

More than half the units will be in two neighboring towers in Kakaako. The other two projects are in Waipio on Oahu and in Hilo.

Projected monthly rental rates, based on county median income levels this year, range from $1,500 for one-bedroom units in Hilo to $3,549 for three-bedroom units in Kakaako.

Eligible tenants may not earn more than the annual median income, which on Oahu this year is $91,500 for a single person and $130,600 for a family of four. On Hawaii island the median income is $66,700 and $95,200, respectively.

Like Chang, Nakamura said money alone cannot solve Hawaii’s housing problems. Even though the Legislature appropriated funds including $300 million for the rental housing revolving fund and other priorities, “We cannot let up on what we did last year,” she said. “We’re on the right path. It’s a good environment. The developers know we are funding those projects that are the most shovel-ready that have the building permits in hand and have their entitlements and infrastructure and are ready to move.”

Moore said that progress on housing will represent “the first test” of the new Green administration’s working relationship with the Legislature.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of goodwill,” Moore said.

“Everyone agrees this is the No. 1 problem the state faces,” he said. “There’s no disagreement there. This is going to be the first test: To what extent are they (legislators) going to genuinely work with the Green administration? Or are they going to pay lip service and do their own thing, which has often been their strategy with (Gov. David) Ige?”

But Green won the gov­ernor’s office with a clear mandate and won’t be afraid to call out an obstructionist Legislature, Moore said.

“If they resist him, Josh Green is pretty talented at using the bully pulpit,” Moore said. “It won’t be a surprise to me to see an outspoken governor really going after them in a way that Ige never really did.”

But for now, Moore said, the table is set for good things to happen on housing.

“We haven’t been able to solve this, because it’s a hard problem to solve,” Moore said. “But these are talented people (Medeiros and Hirai) who are appointed to these positions. So I think we’re off to a great start, especially with the state coordinating that closely with the city and county.”