The Hawaii Community Development Authority has approved a development permit for the Moana Vista project, a mixed-use residential/commercial/industrial high-rise complex on two sites at 1015 Kapiolani Boulevard and 1025 Waimanu Street.  KC Rainbow 2 Development Co. LLC is the project’s developer. 
           

The Authority, in December 2005, approved a front yard setback modification, Joint Development and a Planned Development Permit to allow development of the Moana Vista project.  The Kapiolani Boulevard site will contain a 41-story residential tower on top of a five-story podium and the Waimanu Street site would have a two-story residential tower on top of a three-story podium.  Moana Vista will have approximately 591,000 square feet of floor area, including 520 residential units (of which would be approximately124 two-bedroom rental reserved units and approximately 396 market units.)  HCDA does not impose price or income requirements on the sale of the market units.  The rental reserved units will be rented to qualified households with a maximum annual income of approximately $71,300 and the maximum monthly payments (including rent, utilities, etc.) will not exceed 30 percent of the income (approximately $1,800/month).  The developer will be required to provide the rental reserved units to qualified households at the specified rents for at least 15 years.  Details of the requirements for rental of reserved units can be found in HCDA’s website.  Go to http://www.hcdaweb.org/images/maukaarearulesjune2005_a636.pdf and scroll down to ‘Subchapter 7 Sale and Rental of Reserved Units’.  The project will also include 12,000 square feet of commercial space and 223,000 square feet of industrial industrial uses.  The Kapiolani site will have storefronts along Kapiolani Boulevard and Waimanu Street, and the Waimanu site will house 195 parking spaces of which up to 100 spaces may be purchased or leased from the developer by HCDA for use by the public. 

In September 2006, HCDA members approved a revised Joint Development and Planned Development Permit for the Moana Vista Project.  Members also authorized the HCDA Executive Director to administratively amend the Development Permit for development of Parcel 40 and to set aside up to $5.6 million in Public Facility Fund to acquire public parking spaces.  The Moana Vista Project, originally approved in December 2005, consisted of separate parcels (Moana Vista, Obun Hawaii and Public Storage) to be jointly developed into a mixed-use residential/commercial/industrial complex at 1015 Kapiolani Boulevard and 1025 Waimanu Street (Parcel 40).  At HCDA’s request, the developer had agreed to provide temporary parking on Parcel 40 until March 2008 for use by businesses affected by Improvement District 11 Project on Queen Street.  The developer requested a revision to the original permit because Obun Hawaii decided not to proceed with a joint development.

Under the revised permit, Obun Hawaii is deleted from the joint development.  Moana Vista now proposes approximately 552,000 square feet of floor area, 492 residential units, 5,500 square feet of commercial area, and 22,000 square feet of industrial space.  The developer will also deliver not less than 124 two-bedroom reserved housing units, intended to be rentals, not later than September 2009.  Under the revised permit, HCDA will continue to use Parcel 40 for parking until March 2008 and the developer may submit a proposal for additional development on Parcel 40 to HCDA before March 2007.  Otherwise, HCDA may condemn the Parcel for public purposes.