For most of the past two decades, efforts to address Oʻahu’s housing crisis have been fragmented, with leaders across the City and County of Honolulu focused primarily on homelessness. That changed in early 2021, when Mayor Rick Blangiardi took office — and affordable housing took center stage.
Although the Office of Housing was established back in 2011, it had never been staffed or funded at the level necessary to implement a formidable housing program. With housing among his top priorities, the mayor quickly formed an internal working group with the leaders of all City departments involved in the housing process, helping to create the cross-sector collaboration necessary to drive results on City housing projects and programs. In April 2023, I was honored to be asked to join the mayor’s team and lead that working group as the new Executive Director for the Office of Housing. Three months later, the mayor invited the former Redevelopment Officer at the Hawai’i Public Housing Authority, Kevin Auger, to join as my deputy.
Today, the City and County of Honolulu plays a key role in the delivery of housing units across our island. Our mission is to drive unprecedented investment across Oʻahu in the three pillars of housing: the acquisition of, the creation of, and the preservation of affordable housing to promote community stability. Armed with that mission, a clear vision and achievable goals for housing, the Blangiardi administration presented its first Housing Plan to the Honolulu City Council this past November.
Working with our partners in the private and public sector, we will help drive the delivery of approximately 18,000 housing units between FY22 and FY29 — and we will get there by investing in affordable housing through acquisitions, providing financing, and making city lands available for development.
In 2023, the city facilitated the opening or groundbreaking of over 1,200 affordable units.
Under Mayor Blangiardi, the City made significant investments in affordable housing acquisitions, including buildings like Waikīkī Vista. Purchased for $37.75 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, the 108-unit building is the largest affordable housing acquisition ever made by the City. To address two of the most pressing problems our communities are facing — housing and homelessness — the City and the state are working together to open a family assessment center and permanent supportive housing program at this location.
The City also invested $5 million to acquire one of the last vacant apartment-zoned parcels in Kailua. The plan is to make that half-acre parcel on Kīhāpai Place available by competitive bid for affordable housing development through a long-term ground lease in early 2024.
Our strategy is not just about acquiring property. For the first time in decades, two important financing resources are once again being deployed under the Blangiardi administration.
In 2022, the mayor resurrected the City’s Private Activity Bond (PAB) program after a 23-year hiatus. Breathing new life into this important financing resource enabled the City to better support the development and preservation of affordable housing on Oʻahu. As of November 2023, the City has awarded $258 million to developers like Stanford Carr Development, the Āhē Group, and The Michaels Organization, helping them construct or rehabilitate nearly 1,000 affordable units across Oʻahu.
In 2022, the City also initiated the first public solicitation of its Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), making the funds available on a competitive basis for the first time since its establishment. The fund is resourced by real property tax collections, resulting in more than $23 million being deployed to help finance over 800 rental housing units.
To help spur future development, the City is making lands available to private developers through a competitive bid process to build affordable housing for our communities. Projects have to enter into a long-term ground lease with the City and commit to maintaining affordability for 75 years. By the summer of 2024, the City will have made over 18 acres of land available for the development of nearly 850 affordable rental units.
Parkway Village in Kapolei, by the Kobayashi Group and Āhē Group, is one example of private development on City-owned land. The project, which broke ground in September 2023, will deliver 405 new affordable rental units and two on-site preschools within walking distance of Kapolei’s commercial core. The first phase of homes are expected to be move-in ready by fall 2024.
With Skyline expected to be a significant driver of housing development in the years to come, Kaleimaʻo Village by Stanford Carr Development is one project leading the way when it comes to transit-focused housing. Estimated to be completed by the end of 2025, Kaleimaʻo Village will provide 128 new affordable units in close proximity to two transit stations — Kualaka’i and Keone‘ae. Not only did the City provide the land for this project, but it also provided $30 million in Private Activity Bonds to help get construction moving.
As we look toward the exciting challenges that await us in 2024, we reflect with heartfelt gratitude on the many blessings that have been bestowed upon us. The outlook for the New Year looks bright as we work toward the restructuring of our housing functions and programs to be more efficient and effective for the people that we serve.