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Affordable Housing

The State of Hawaii’s need for affordable housing is well documented. With the shortage of public funds, the high cost of construction, and the lack of available land, clearly, creative solutions must be found to meet this need. For anyone who has felt the bite of the affordable housing shortage, Kaka‘ako represents an opportunity to be part of the attractive and convenient residential community—of varying incomes, ages and family groups—there.

Honuakaha Na Lei Hulu Kupuna 1 Kauhale Kaka'ako Pohulani 2

To date 1,375 affordable rental and condominium units have been developed in Kaka‘ako, and another 63 units are slated for construction in 2006. The Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) is providing for the delivery of housing in Kaka‘ako in several ways. The Kaka‘ako Community Development District Plan’s “reserved housing” provision requires private developers to provide below market priced units as a condition for development. A private developer must “reserve” 20 percent of the total number of residential units in the development for families earning less than 140 percent of median income. Under certain conditions, the Authority may allow a developer to meet the reserved housing requirement through various alternatives such as providing the required number of units elsewhere in Kaka‘ako, selling the units at a negotiated price to the Authority, or providing a cash payment in lieu of providing the reserved units. In lieu funds collected thus far have been used in part by the HCDA to construct its own affordable housing projects.

Another important means that HCDA has employed to develop affordable housing is to undertake projects with the participation and resources of other governmental agencies and the private sector. This partnering is what has enabled the State of Hawaii to develop the 1,375 affordable rentals and condominiums for families and seniors in the Kaka‘ako District.

HCDA does NOT directly manage reserved housing; rather developers are required to follow HCDA’s rules which can be found in Subchapter 7 of our Mauka Area Rules. They can be located at: http://hcdaweb.org/kakaako/plans-rules/Mauka%20Rules%20-%20Chapter%2022.pdf Persons interested in applying for reserved housing within a residential development may do so by contacting the developer, or manager, of that specific project.