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Waipahu Tower Redication – Affordable Units for Local Families

The Ahe Group together with its partners – Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation, Citibank, and CREA, LLC are excited to welcome home the more than 180 residents of Waipahu Tower. The 64 unit apartment complex was acquired by Ahe Group in 2017. The acquisition ensures that the building will be maintained as affordable rentals for the next 61 years with rents restricted to less than 60% of the area median income.

The new renovations include the construction of a new, onsite community building, management office, and gathering space for residents. Additionally, the installation of a 148 kW photovoltaic system will help to offset the cost of utilities for the residents and reduce Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels.

 

 

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Ainahau Vista II: Affordable Housing for Seniors

In 2017, Councilmember Pine’s Zoning & Housing Committee approved Ainahau Vista II, a 201 (H) project, bringing forth 62 affordable rental units to seniors.  This project includes six units to seniors earning at or below 60% AMI, 53 units to seniors earning at or below 50% AMI, and three units to seniors earning at or below 30% AMI.

Monthly rates for studio units begin at $549 for 35% and below AMI. These rates include utilities.

Mahalo Hawaii Housing Development Corporation for proposing this affordable senior rental apartment building which will allow many of our treasured kupuna to live in town, walk to and from the store to buy groceries, and stay close to their family and friends.

 

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Kauhale Kamaile: New Modular Permanent Housing for Waianae’s Homeless

Yesterday, our Wai‘anae community held a blessing ceremony as three formerly homeless families on the Leeward Coast received keys to their new future.

 

Kauhale Kamaile is a new modular permanent housing project on a formerly vacant parcel purchased and developed by the City and will soon serve as home to 16 Leeward Coast families. The name of the modular housing project harkens back to the former lo‘i kalo gardens (Kamaile) that flourished in the area and the community-based living (Kauhale) that old Hawai‘i is known for.

 

This project is part of my ongoing commitment to give Wai‘anae families the housing opportunities they deserve. All of the families who moved in yesterday shared stories of previously experiencing homelessness along the Leeward Coast. Now that they finally have a home, these families also have a safe place for their keiki to thrive in.

 

The 16-unit modular permanent housing project is for families and individuals who earn 50-percent of area median income (AMI). A housing subsidy covers a portion of the family’s rent costs.

 

As the Chair of the City’s Zoning & Housing Committee, I look forward to working with our community to bring more projects like these to fruition throughout O’ahu. With your support, we can continue to build communities of hope for our hard-working local families.

 

 

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VIDEO: Kahauiki Village Tour – Affordable Permanent Housing

Thirty previously homeless families now have a place to call home! Kahauiki Village (located near Nimitz Highway) is a public/private partnership development with the State of Hawaii, the City & County of Honolulu and the aio Foundation. Together, we have built an affordable plantation-style community for previously homeless families. In January 2018, 30 families consisting of 115 previously homeless residents and their keiki moved in. Upon completion of this project, Kahauiki Village will be home to approximately 630 residents. I am inspired by this affordable housing project and hope to create more similar solutions like this that would alleviate homelessness along the Leeward Coast.

 

 

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RADIO INTERVIEW: Honolulu Moves to Regulate Monster Homes

ICYMI: This morning, I joined Catherine Cruz and Chris Vandercook of Hawaiʻi Public Radio to discuss the City Council’s actions on “monster homes” in our communities. Other guests in this panel discussion include John Whalen of HCDA and Evan Fujimoto – President of Building Industry Association.

To listen in on the interview, visit here: http://hpr2.org/…/conversation-honolulu-moves-regulate-mons…

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Mayor Signs Bill 59, CD2 into law

Building truly affordable housing on O’ahu came closer to a reality today after Mayor Kirk Caldwell‘s signing of Bill 59, CD2, FD1— a collaborative effort between the City and community stakeholders to ease the financial burden for projects pledging to build affordable housing for local workforce families.

According to Bill 59, builders who commit to building affordable rentals or for-sale units will be able to utilize fee waivers, property tax abatement and property tax ex…emptions. These components, which apply to all affordable units within a new development, affordable units in future IPD-T projects, as well as 201H affordable rental projects, are the result of vigorous collaboration between multiple parties. Affordable rentals serving families as low as 60 – 80% Area Median Income (AMI), as well as affordable for-sale units serving families making 100% and below AMI and 120% and below AMI will qualify.

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Affordable Housing Bill 59 Passes Council

 

KYMBERLY MARCOS PINE

HONOLULU CITY COUNCILMEMBER

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

 

Affordable Housing Bill 59 Passes Council

 

Building truly affordable housing on O’ahu came closer to a reality today after the Honolulu City Council’s adoption of Bill 59, CD2, FD1— a collaborative effort between the City and community stakeholders to ease the financial burden for projects pledging to build affordable housing for local workforce families.

 

“Given the current low stock of affordable housing and the increasing demand going into the future, we need leadership and shared sacrifice to make the construction of affordable housing easier, not harder to do on O’ahu,” said Councilmember Kymberly Marcos Pine, Chair of the Committee on Zoning & Housing.

 

“This is why the City has joined forces with affordable housing advocates, local builders, contractors, and lenders to make it easier to build affordable rental and for-sale units our local families can actually afford,” Pine added. “We have discovered that by creating a lower burden to entry, Bill 59 encourages local builders to pursue projects with deeper levels of affordability, bringing us a step closer to addressing O’ahu’s critical affordable housing shortage.”

 

“There’s so much we need to do to create sufficient affordable housing such as increasing subsidies for low-income development, improving infrastructure, and strengthening the capacity of non-profit developers in the state. Passage of Bill 59 for building affordable housing is one of those important steps,” said Victor Geminiani, Co-Executive Director of Hawaiʻi Appleseed.

 

Elliot Van Wie, Conservation Chair & Smart Growth Chair of Sierra Club of O’ahu echoed his support in submitted testimony: “We believe that this bill will play an invaluable part in obtaining the positive kind of growth we want in the future while making life just a little bit less financially burdensome for our islands’ families, moving into the future.”

 

This measure will go into effect upon the bill’s approval. For more information on the measure, you can read Bill 59, CD2, FD1 here.

 

According to Bill 59, builders who commit to building affordable rentals or for-sale units will be able to utilize fee waivers, property tax abatement and property tax exemptions. These components, which apply to all affordable units within a new development, affordable units in future IPD-T projects, as well as 201H affordable rental projects, are the result of vigorous collaboration between multiple parties.  Affordable rentals serving families as low as 60 – 80% Area Median Income (AMI), as well as affordable for-sale units serving families making 100% and below AMI and 120% and below AMI will qualify[i].

 

Councilmember Pine is the Chair of the Committee on Zoning and Housing, and represents residents of District One (’Ewa, ’Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Honokai Hale, Ko Olina, Nanakuli, Maili, Wai’anae, Makaha, Keaau, Makua).

 

 

[i] Income Levels:  60% AMI for family of four is $62,760 | `80% AMI for family of four is $83,680 | 100% AMI for family of four is $104,600 | 120% AMI for family of four is $125,520

 

Source: HHFDC-HUD Income Limits 2017 at https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/hhfdc/files/2017/05/2017-HUD-Income-Limits-Honolulu.pdf

 

 

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Modular Housing Units moving to Waianae

Modular housing units to be used to shelter those experiencing homelessness in Honolulu are scheduled to be moved to WaianWaiʻanaeae starting Monday. 

The modular units will be placed on a parcel of land acquired by the city at 85-248 Farrington Highway next to the Maluhia Lutheran Church.

The modular homes from Honolulu Harbor to the site over the next three days (Monday, Dec. 18 – Wednesday, Dec. 20). Occupancy will occur in early 2018.

This is one of several low cost rental projects that the City has either completed or is in process of doing so. Two similar sized projects on Hassinger Street and Beretania Street in Makiki have both been very successful.

 

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Upcoming: City’s Affordable Housing Requirements & Incentives

Did you know?

  • Oahu is experiencing a housing crisis, and needs to build more than 24,000 housing units to address demand.
  • Over three quarters of the demand is for households earning less than 80% of area median income (AMI), or $80,450 for a family of four.

 

The Council and the Committee on Zoning and Housing are currently working with community stakeholders to refine the city’s Affordable Housing Strategy. We need a strategy that addresses these needs with new and revised policies, incentives, regulations, and investments, in partnership with developers, builders, and other stakeholders.We need to focus on projects, partnerships, funding, and use of City lands to accelerate affordable housing production.  Ongoing infrastructure investment in transit-oriented development (TOD) areas is critical to support affordable housing on city and state lands. Updating the City’s Housing Strategy could add around 800 affordable units/year, once construction of planned projects is completed.

To achieve these results, the Council in the past two years, developed and approved an accessory dwelling unit program, and is currently reviewing two new initiatives proposed:

  1. The Affordable Housing Requirement (AHR) (Bill 58)
    1. This “inclusionary” housing requirement will apply to all development over 10 units. Current regulations, applied to rezoning, require only ten years of affordability. The new policy requires fewer units, but at lower income levels, and for three times longer. Since the TOD area includes new mixed-use zoning and potential height and density bonus, it is higher than the islandwide requirement.
  2. The Affordable Housing Incentives (Bill 59)
    1. For all qualified affordable housing units produced, the City will eliminate sewer hook-up fees, park dedication fees, and DPP building permit and plan review fees. Real property taxes will be waived for rental projects for as long as the units remain affordable. Property tax increases during construction will also be waived for all units for projects that include required affordable units. We are considering a development industry proposal to provide fee and property tax waivers for all units in rental projects where most units are at 140% AMI, with a portion at 80% AMI.
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Keahumoa Place: Affordable Rentals coming to Kapolei

In the past year, Councilmember Pine and the Zoning and Housing Committee worked with affordable housing developers tohelp bring truly affordable units to the market, with other affordable projects on the way.

Two affordable housing developments coming soon to Kapolei include Kulana Hale, an affordable rental complex in Kapolei, with units set aside for senior renters, as well as Keahumoa Place, which will be a 320-unit affordable rental complex in east Kapolei, that could break ground as early as this year. Keahumoa Place is a collaboration between affordable housing developer Michaels Development, the State of Hawaii (which owns the land), and the City which is providing incentives and fee waivers to help offset the cost of construction. Last month, my Zoning & Housing Committee provided this project with City construction incentives, paving the way for its groundbreaking. This project is a 100% affordable rental community which will have 320 affordable rentals ranging from$588/month for a 1-bedroom unit up to $2700/month for a large 3-bedroom unit. Working together, we can continue to make positive steps forward to create affordable rental and ownership opportunities for our local families.

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