Office of Housing

The City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Housing (HOU) has released the 2025-2028 Strategic Housing Plan, a bold initiative to expand housing opportunities for residents of all income levels across O‘ahu. As part of its commitment to tackling Honolulu’s housing challenges, the City is taking a proactive approach by:

  • Partnering with developers to activate underutilized public lands
  • Exploring innovative financing strategies to unlock new resources
  • Centralizing housing functions to streamline development, finance, and policy efforts—enabling faster project delivery and improved coordination of housing initiatives

“We owe it to our teachers, police officers, flight attendants, and other working professionals to ensure that Honolulu remains a place where they can live, work, and thrive,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “Affordable housing is a top priority for my administration. This plan is a crucial step in addressing the rising cost of living, and we are committed to building housing where it’s most needed.”

Click here to read the full 2025-2028 Strategic Housing Plan. 

Key initiatives of the Strategic Housing Plan include:

  • Expanding Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): The Skyline rail system presents an unprecedented opportunity to create high-density, mixed-use communities along its nearly 20-mile route. Concentrating growth in the Primary Urban Center, TOD corridors helps preserve rural areas while integrating housing, offices, retail, education, and government services. This approach reduces commute times, lowers transportation costs, and supports Honolulu’s sustainability goals.
  • Activating the Kūwili Station TOD Redevelopment Area: The Kūwili Station area presents a transformative opportunity for an underserved community. The City and State’s land holdings in this area will help improve connectivity, address environmental concerns, and mitigate flood risks. The Strategic Housing Plan builds off of the Downtown Neighborhood TOD Plan, which was created after almost a decade of extensive community engagement and input. The plan envisions thousands of housing units within a vibrant mixed-use district, backed by $2.7 million in federal and state grants for infrastructure and master planning.
  • Accelerating Housing Development: The City is leveraging underutilized public lands and streamlining procurement processes to expedite partnerships with local developers. An example of this success is Parkway Village at Kapolei—a mixed-use development on City-owned land featuring 401 housing units and two on-site preschools—completed in just over a year through effective public-private collaboration.
  • Enhancing Housing Finance Strategies: Existing funding sources for affordable housing, including General Obligation Bonds, Private Activity Bonds, and the Affordable Housing Fund (Ordinance 7-19), are limited. The City is committed to exploring new financing strategies that will expand resources and create additional opportunities for housing development.
  • Reorganizing Housing Functions: For nearly three decades, the City has lacked a centralized housing department. As announced in Mayor Blangiardi’s 2024 State of the City address, the City plans to consolidate its housing programs under the proposed Department of Housing and Land Management (DHLM). This restructuring will improve efficiency, accelerate project delivery, and enhance coordination of housing initiatives.
  • Improving Housing Policies and Processes: With support from the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (UHERO), the City will conduct a comprehensive review of housing programs and policies—refining successful strategies and reworking those that are less effective. A forward-thinking set of recommendations is expected by late 2025 to optimize land use, increase homeownership opportunities, and enhance predictability.

“This plan represents our commitment to shifting from policy discussions to real action,” said Kevin D. Auger, Executive Director of the Office of Housing. “We’re not in the storage business—we’re in the moving business. This plan is all about making City lands available, breaking down barriers, and getting much-needed housing built quickly and efficiently. By prioritizing implementation and collaboration, we’re ensuring that Honolulu’s working families have access to the homes they need and deserve.”

The Strategic Housing Plan was developed by the Office of Housing in partnership with CommunityScale, LLC. The City extends its gratitude to all stakeholders who contributed to the plan’s development. Additionally, Abt Global and Affordable Housing Connections, LLC, provided valuable research and stakeholder engagement support.

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