The failure of the Kalihi Valley Homes renovation to stay on program illustrates government's struggle to cope with the growing demand for affordable housing.

As is the case in other government agencies, chronic staffing shortages and bureaucratic inefficiencies have not made that challenge any easier. In the past seven years, an initial strong start to the massive upgrade project has bogged down and left the once-hopeful tenants feeling dejected.

Construction delays resulted from these inefficiencies, compounded by the inadequacy of federal dollars allotted for the work. Now the public housing complex is a hodgepodge of pleasantly redone facades mixed with unimproved buildings that look dilapidated by contrast.

This is one reason why there's a push to get government out of project management. But the reality is that government can't withdraw from the business that quickly — the private sector isn't primed to assume that burden overnight.

So it's up to the Hawai'i Public Housing Authority to finish the remaining 200-plus units in this upgrade project. It was the state agency's proposal, shaped by community suggestions, that was approved by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Both agencies are on the hook to finish the job properly.

For starters, it's a mistake to scale back improvements as far as the state agency now wants to do. Retaining the flat roofs, which are prone to leaks and hard to repair, may seem the cheap way out now, but will end up costing more to fix eventually. At the very least, committing to pitched roofs will preserve a more unified look to the development and offer a maintenance savings in the long run.

Secondly, the federal dollars allotted to do the work do not reflect the reality of construction costs. True, the project may have been too ambitious to start with, but HUD signed off on it and should see it through. Our congressional delegation should help secure funds to ease the deficit.

Finally, some public-private partnerships might be pursued to finish off the development more affordably. Perhaps the 72 units originally slated for demolition and now rightly being retained, could be part of a redevelopment project with private involvement.

Finishing Kalihi Valley Homes in some respectable fashion is not mission impossible. But it's going to take some creativity and resolve on several fronts to get there from here.