Local residents hoping to save $1,000 to $1,500 on monthly housing costs are vying for a chance to live in a Hawaii Kai apartment complex slated for completion next year, and their odds aren’t too bad.
The developer of the project named 7000 Hawaii Kai Drive received about 200 applications for 54 rental units reserved for households with low incomes. That means the applicants, who met an Aug. 31 deadline to apply and will be entered in a lottery, have roughly 1-in-4 odds of being selected for an apartment.
To qualify for the below-market units, applicants may not earn more than 80 percent of the median income in Honolulu, or $61,350 for a couple and $76,650 for a family of four, and cannot own a majority interest in other residential property.
Theresia McMurdo, vice president with Honolulu-based Avalon Development Co., which is developing the project for landowner Hanwha Engineering & Construction of South Korea, said the turnout was higher than expected considering that construction is slated for completion in June.
“People are telling us that they are excited something like this has finally become available in Hawaii Kai,” she said in an email. “They realize that this project is unique — not only because there hasn’t been a new development in the area in more than a decade, but also because there is no other project in East Honolulu that is an all-rental apartment community.”
McMurdo said Avalon received 50 applications Aug. 31, including 10 applications in the hour before the midnight deadline. Avalon began soliciting applicants in mid-July.
Monthly rent for the affordable rentals range from $1,495 for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units with 709 to 782 square feet of living space to $2,336 for three-bedroom, two-bathroom units with 1,018 to 1,103 square feet of living space. There are 26 two-bedroom units and 28 three-bedroom units available.
One parking stall is included in the rent. Additional stalls are available for $50 a month.
Avalon said market rents for similar apartments that will be in the 269-unit project will be about $2,500 for two-bedroom apartments and $3,500 for three-bedroom apartments. There also are some four-bedroom, two-bathroom units with 1,149 square feet of living space with rental rates from $4,000 to $4,200.
Planned amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, movie theater, barbecue area, meeting room and business center.
The affordable rentals fulfill city affordable-housing regulations related to prior rezoning of the property, and represent 20 percent of the units at 7000 Hawaii Kai.
