There is an urgent need for affordable rentals, especially for senior citizens on fixed incomes. So the holdup of a project to build two rental towers on city land in Chinatown for seniors is maddening — especially since it has been vetted for nearly a year.
City Council Chairman Ernie Martin has essentially put a roadblock in front of the $49 million, two-tower Halewaiolu project by not formally introducing a resolution approving the development agreement with Michaels Development Co. Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration announced the agreement on Nov. 9.
Martin said he is holding off until the Caldwell administration meets with Chinatown groups who take issue with certain aspects of the River Street development — meetings he would like to attend, but never initiated himself. It’s time to stop the politicking and move forward a much-needed project.
Without the resolution, Michaels is missing key funding deadlines, putting the project in jeopardy. To spur progress, the Caldwell administration said it will host meetings later this month and in early March to get the developer and upset neighbors to the table to try to find common ground.
Among the major sticking points: Lum Sai Ho Tong, the club that owns the building next to the planned towers, wants a 60-foot setback between its property and the tower that will sit next to it. Michaels officials contend a 60-foot setback would make the project unfeasible and has proposed a 10-foot setback. Lum Sai Ho Tong also says the neighborhood’s feng shui, the Chinese concept that people should find ways to achieve harmony with the environment around them, also should be considered.
Martin suggested that a middle ground could be reached on the setback if adjustments or variances on the height were acceptable to the developer, which could be included in the resolution.
Sandra Pfund, who heads the city Office of Strategic Development, said she has attended 15 meetings with either the neighborhood board or people in the community since April. Pfund said that Martin’s reluctance to introduce the resolution has caused a logjam. In order for any redesign to be done, money must be spent. Michaels does not want to expend more on a redesign unless it has contractual rights in hand, which cannot be obtained without passage of the resolution.
Further, without an approved development agreement, Michaels is not able to submit a crucial application to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. (HHFDC) that would make the project eligible for state and federal grants, tax credits and low-interest loans, said Karen Seddon, the company’s regional vice president.
The delay means Michaels won’t be able to submit an application in time for the HHFDC’s June distribution timeline. Applications for a second round of grants, credits and loans must be done by August, but if that deadline is missed, Michaels must wait until March 2017 to be eligible. These are real-world consequences to political grandstanding.
The two midrise towers are slated to provide 151 affordable rental units for seniors. All units would be for those 62 and older making no more than 80 percent of median income, and prices would range from about $450 to $1,000 a month for a one-bedroom unit.
It’s shameful that a project with overwhelming community support has sat needlessly idle for months. It’s not always possible to please everyone, and the Council needs to recognize this. There is little sense in stretching out an already lengthy process to develop affordable rentals for seniors — especially when the delay itself now stands to jeopardize the much-needed housing.
