Affordable housing swap set
Advertiser Staff
The city has reached a preliminary agreement to pay $3.5 million in cash and transfer two pieces of property to Kamehameha Schools in exchange for the land beneath an affordable housing complex in Kane'ohe that the city hopes to sell as part of an effort to divest its low-income housing properties.
The Kamehameha Schools trust currently owns the 4.26-acre parcel, while the city owns the complex, Kulana Nani. The 160-unit complex features two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, with current rents ranging from $536 to $714 per month.
If the city can buy the land, the complex will be sold to a private owner or nonprofit group with restrictions that will protect the residents from drastic rent increases while ensuring the apartments are not converted to privately owned condominiums, according to a news release.
"We recognize that there is a shortage of affordable rental housing on O'ahu and that Kulana Nani residents are very concerned about their future," Mayor Mufi Hannemann said in the release.
"As I have always insisted, I will only agree to a sale if the residents are allowed to remain and the rents are kept affordable."
Dorothea Pale, president of the Residents' Association at Kulana Nani, said she was very pleased to hear of the city's intent to acquire the land beneath the complex.
"This is really great news," Pale said in a news release. "The residents are very happy that they can stay here."
The city plans to acquire the property in exchange for the cash and some city-owned property on Ilalo Street in Kaka'ako.
"Whoever buys — or leases — (Kulana Nani) needs to keep it affordable in perpetuity — and maintain and operate it with dignity," said council chairwoman Barbara Marshall, who represents the district Kulana Nani is in.
The purchase, subject to City Council approval, is expected to be financed with money from the Affordable Housing Fund that voters established in 2006 through an amendment to the City Charter.
Kulana Nani is one of 12 housing properties owned by the city, which include a total of 1,257 rental apartments.
