A: Hawai‘i has a housing crisis. There is not enough affordable housing on O‘ahu. Many are struggling to make ends meet and housing takes a big bite out of their paychecks. The City and County of Honolulu is taking action to address this challenge. The City identified a number of properties that it owns that could be turned into affordable housing, and 130 South Beretania, where Kamali‘i Mini Park resides, is one of these sites.

The City does not own the abandoned buildings downtown. They are owned by private companies. There is also a master plan for Iwilei that is now being developed through a public-private partnership involving the City, the State and a private developer to explore transit-oriented development that includes affordable housing.

A: Here is background information on how we got to where we are today: The City’s Department of Housing and Land Management (DHLM) issued a Request for Qualifications to determine whether any developers were interested and capable of developing different sites for affordable housing. Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation, in partnership with Lanakila Pacific as a co-investor and co-developer, submitted its qualifications for the site at 130 South Beretania. DHLM selected Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation as the preferred negotiating partner for 130 South Beretania because of its long, 45-year track record as a nonprofit developer of affordable housing across the state.

It is important to note that Pacific Housing and Lanakila Pacific cannot move forward with the proposed development until the City and County of Honolulu executes a development contract and lease. The Honolulu City Council must approve this first.

A: We are looking at all possibilities and exploring ways we can preserve open spaces while also providing affordable housing and services for those with disabilities. Pacific Housing and Lanakila Pacific, with the expertise of WRNS Studio, believe we can come up with solutions that we may have thought were not even possible. We are working on preliminary concepts to show what can be done to share with the community. This includes a park maintained by the developer that will be open to the public. The park will provide workforce development opportunities for Lanakila Pacific, which has a training program on groundskeeping for those with disabilities. Residents will also be able to enjoy open green space on the top of the parking structure.

The City put out a call for developers to lease land from the City to fill the great need for affordable housing rentals. The City is not selling any land to developers. The sites are being leased to developers to develop affordable housing rentals. The City retains ownership of the land, and the housing units are rented to individuals. There will be no ownership transfers of land nor any sale of individual units. At the end of the lease term, the improvements will revert to the City.

A: Yes, your input is an important part of the development process. As co-developers, Pacific Housing and Lanakila Pacific are conducting listening sessions for the community to gain an understanding of our preliminary ideas and what could be possible for the site. Unfortunately, this may be misconstrued that decisions have already been made without community input. This process promotes transparency and involves the community in decision-making.

The listening sessions allow us to share our ideas with the community in the early stages. The sessions provide opportunities to hear firsthand what is important to the community and to take their concerns into consideration as part of the design process. 

Please see the schedule of upcoming community meetings. 

A: These are all important considerations. Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation and Lanakila Pacific have enlisted the support of WRNS Studio, a local architectural firm that has experience working with Hawai‘i’s limited spaces. WRNS Studio also recently completed two disability-forward communities in San Francisco, including The Kelsey, an urban disability-forward community. WRNS Studio is a leader in this area, helping to establish universal design standards for The Kelsey for disability-forward units and communities. They understand the space needs required for units that will be rented to people with disabilities.

A: In Hawai‘i, there are many who are classified as ALICE families. ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained Employed. Those living in Hawai‘i know that even if you are employed, it can be challenging to pay all your bills, especially since housing takes so much of our pay. Those with disabilities who are working may experience even more challenges because of discrimination and other factors that make it difficult for them to live independently on their own. 

A disability-forward housing levels the playing field by making housing more affordable with valuable services, programs and jobs that are easily accessible right in the same building so that these residents can thrive. Since 130 South Beretania is conveniently located near TheBus routes and eventually near The Skyline, this will make this new community even more disability-friendly and allow these residents to live independently.

Affordable housing brings stability for those with disabilities because it increases their employment opportunities, lowers their risk of homelessness, and reduces their reliance on publicly-funded benefits.

We are tentatively looking at reserving 25% of the total units for those with disabilities and the remainder for workforce housing. Lanakila Pacific would have office space on the ground floor to provide essential programs and workforce development programs to serve residents.

A: No, this will be an inclusive, integrated community. It will be Hawaiʻi’s first disability-forward housing community where people of all abilities live and thrive together. We envision a vibrant, integrated community that supports individuals with disabilities and creates a welcoming and accessible environment for people with any challenge to living independently.

We want to empower residents by offering access to employment and essential services. We would like to offer an inclusive community with a thoughtful space that provides safe, affordable workforce housing and welcomes those who serve our communities—healthcare workers, first responders, educators, and others.

A: Ultimately, Pacific Housing and Lanakila Pacific are responsible for making this workforce housing project financially viable while ensuring that it is affordable for the community. Since we are still in the pre-development stage and have not begun to obtain financing, it is too early to say what the rents will be for residents, but we do know that the City requires that 120% of Honolulu’s annual median income, based on household size, would be the maximum for someone to be eligible to be a resident for this community. For 2025, this would be $145,920 for a two-person household and $182,400 for a four-person household.

A: Dog parks are an important community asset; however, the City requested developers to explore this property for affordable housing. Our plan will be to preserve open spaces that can be used as a park where dogs will be allowed. Aala Park located about a half mile away includes an off leash dog park for small and larger dogs.

A: Pacific Housing and Lanakila Pacific will be engaging arborists to help with looking at what types of trees and other vegetation will be best for park on the mauka end of the property. We envision a lush, green space that is a welcoming site for the community and that will greet motorists entering this gateway to downtown. The right types of trees can lower temperatures in urban settings, which will increasingly become a climate adaptation measure. This park will be maintained by Pacific Housing and Lanakila Pacific will be able to engage those in its groundskeeping workforce development program to support this effort. Everyone will win!

A: The maximum allowable height for this parcel is 350 feet — the height of adjacent buildings such as Capitol Place and Kukui Plaza. However, we are making a conscious effort to right size the building for the area. We envision this new proposed building would be 175 feet, or half as tall as the neighboring towers.

A: These are important considerations. As with any development, a thorough assessment of the impact on traffic, parking and other aspects will be conducted to determine how this new addition will affect existing neighbors in the area and to undertake any measures to mitigate the impact. We are still in the preliminary stages of this development, and we are not at that stage of the development process yet but will keep the community informed as we move forward.

A: Water conservation must be a top priority for every resident and business on O‘ahu. This will become increasingly important to manage climate impact. As with all new developments, permits and approvals from the Board of Water Supply will be required for this project to move forward.