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A Hawaiian blessing was held Friday for a new low-income rental housing tower in Halawa that overcame major development challenges and a four-year delay.
The 25-story project, Naulu Apartments, features 302 units that rent for as little as $704 a month and are near fully leased.
Kahu Kordell Kekoa blessed the $168 million chevron-shaped building largely subsidized by state, federal and county financing.
Robert Lindsey Sr., who last week moved into a two-bedroom unit with his wife, Novalee, and three of their 20 grandchildren, also felt blessed.
"Living here is a blessing," said Lindsey, who was born and raised in Hawaii but had considered moving to more affordable places including Texas, Las Vegas and Puerto Rico in order to have something bigger than a roughly 300-square foot cottage in Waimanalo he and Novalee previously occupied by themselves. "It's hard in Hawaii."
At Naulu, the Lindsey family and others have affordable living spaces along with amenities that include a fitness center, children's play areas and three community rooms, including one with a big TV and Foosball table occupying part of the 21st and 22nd floors with views over Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial.
The tower developed by California-based Pacific Development Group also is about a nine-minute walk from the city's Skyline rail station at Aloha Stadium where a new mixed use-community with restaurants, retail and a new stadium are planned.
Joe Michael, Pacific Development president, called Naulu a completed dream project that also was something closer to a nightmare to produce.
There was early community opposition to an initial three-phase plan by the developer to renovate an old housing complex for low-income households called Halawa View Apartments, then build three new towers on the same site mainly in place of surface parking to provide 524 new predominantly affordable homes.
The pushback was largely over concerns about density, demand for street parking and proposed tower heights from 250 feet to 276 feet that exceed the site's 150-foot limit under zoning.
In response, Pacific Development eliminated one tower and later combined two approved towers into one with the same number of units. The company also made all the units affordable to households with low incomes, and received a zoning exemption from the Honolulu City Council in 2020.
But setbacks arose due to the coronavirus pandemic, a surge in construction costs, higher interest rates and reduced value of federal and state tax credits being used to finance much of the new tower previously dubbed Halawa View II. Even the Navy raised concerns about having a tower near its base frequented by warships.
"It was just a perfect storm of problems," Michael said at the ceremony attended by local government officials, project partners and others. "So we didn't get to the starting line until four years later."
Michael gave a lot of credit for helping solve some issues to Krishna Jayaram, deputy managing director of the City and County of Honolulu. Michael called Jayaram a "total savior."
Jayaram said Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi's administration, which contributed $5 million to Naulu, has a top priority for affordable housing.
"We're here to facilitate amazing projects like these," Jayaram said.
Other partners on the project included Hunt Capital Partners, Hawaiian Community Development Board, Hawaii Assisted Housing Inc. and Mark Development Inc.
Michael said contractor Nordic PCL completed construction ahead of schedule and under budget.
The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., a state agency, provided most of the project's financing. This included $93 million in state and federal tax credits sold to investors, and a $42 million low-interest loan. According to project officials, the tax credit financing was the most awarded to a single Hawaii project in 15 years.
As a condition of the public financing, rents for the next 56 years must remain affordable to households earning no more than 60% of the median income on Oahu.
Some units are reserved for households earning half as much, or 30%, and some at 40%. Most units are reserved for households earning no more than 50% of the median income.
Dean Minakami, HHFDC executive director, said such "deeply affordable" housing cannot be built in Hawaii without subsidies.
Income limits at the 60% level equate to $63,840 for a single person, $72,960 for a couple and $91,200 for a family of four. The figures are half as much at the 30% level.
Monthly rent at Naulu ranges from $704 at the lowest income ceiling for a studio, to $2,402 at the highest income ceiling for a four-bedroom unit.
According to the project's property management firm Indigo Real Estate, almost 1,700 applications have been received since March, and the highest demand has been for units reserved for households at the lowest income tier.
About 25 units remain available, as many applicants are now on a waitlist for already leased units of other sizes reserved for households at other income levels.
Tenants began moving in at the end of June. Arvin Roberson, a cook who works in the Dillingham area, moved in on July 9 and appreciates the views as well as more affordable rent than he previously had in a larger older apartment in Pearl City.
"It fits," he said of his studio and rental rate. "Not so much stressed out now."