City Expands Affordable Housing
The Department of Land Management completed the acquisition of a three-story apartment building at 754 McCully Street as Honolulu expands affordable housing and adds to its rental portfolio. The building consists of eight large one-bedroom units and two large two-bedroom units. Each unit comes with a large usable lānai and all units were fully renovated at the time of acquisition with new flooring, new kitchen cabinets and appliances, new bathroom cabinets and fixtures, and a fresh coat of paint.
“We continue to meet the challenge of providing additional affordable housing here on O‘ahu,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “Increasing our housing inventory remains a priority of this administration, especially during the pandemic as thousands in our community remain unemployed or struggling to make ends meet. Making Honolulu more livable for those in the lowest income brackets is necessary if we want to continue to thrive as a close-knit island community.”
The purchase closed on May 6. Hawai‘i Affordable Properties, Inc. (HAPI) was retained by the City as the property manager. The building is ideal for families and the rent is set at $1,200 for the one-bedroom units and $1,500 for the two-bedroom units. The rents are set at less than 60% of the Area Median Income.
The City continues to address the critical shortage of affordable housing by seeking quality rental housing units that can provide immediate inventory and can be integrated well into our communities,” added Department of Land Management Director Sandra Pfund.
The acquisition price was $4 million and was funded by an appropriation lead by City Council Budget Chair Joey Manahan, a strong advocate for affordable rental housing.
“The critical need for affordable housing is only getting greater with the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Council Member Manahan. “This property at 754 McCully Street responds to that need for truly affordable housing where it’s needed most, in Honolulu’s urban core.”
Since 2016 the City has acquired, completed or is in development to add 1,328 housing units to the City’s affordable rental housing portfolio, now totaling 2,508 units. Under Mayor’s leadership the City has more than doubled the number of existing City housing units.
