The Hawaii Housing Finance Development Corp. is entering into a memorandum of agreement with the Waikiki Community Center that clears the way for redevelopment of the existing center and remaining property, which could include a 135- to 200-unit affordable housing tower.

The HHFDC board on Sept. 12 approved the MOA between HHFDC and the center, which serves the community on a site that includes three buildings from the former St. Augustine School that were built in the 1940s and 1950s and are coming to the end of their useful life.

The center is a “one-stop shop” for everything from homelessness prevention to low-cost preschool options, volunteer opportunities and outlets for socializing and other social services such as making sure people have enough to eat, are financially literate and are building savings.

Now, it may also address Oahu’s critical affordable housing needs in partnership with the state, which is the fee-simple owner of the Poakalani Avenue site where the center sits.

Waikiki Community Center President Caroline Hayashi, who spoke at the Sept. 12 HHFDC board meeting, said the nonprofit has spent 46 years at the site, and many of the buildings are 57 to 78 years old.

“The mission of the Waikiki Community Center is to care for keiki and kupuna as ohana. We meet people’s holistic needs, which means mind, body, heart,” Hayashi told the board. “Whether it’s navigating resources for low-income kupuna or providing quality preschool education for low-income keiki, we know that people have multiple needs that need to be met, and actually one of the biggest needs that we’ve seen especially in the last couple of years has been affordable housing.”

Hayashi said WCC is currently located on a “low-rise site surrounded by high-rise neighbors, and this really highlights the extreme under-utilization of the site.”

“As our buildings end their useful lives, we really see the opportunity to both meet the critical need for affordable housing that we see every day amongst our kupuna and families, and combine them with the supportive programs and serv­ices that we currently offer to create a synergistic and true comprehensive community center,” she said.

Hayashi said in addition to the affordable housing units, the nonprofit’s redevelopment vision includes preschool and office space, more flexible and accessible multipurpose spaces and technology infrastructure upgrades.

HHFDC spokesperson Gordon Pang said the next step for the project is to obtain approval for the MOA from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, which owns the master lease to the property. HHFDC estimates that might happen by the end of the year, Pang said.

“After that, HHFDC will issue a request for proposals seeking a developer to master-plan the site,” he said. “This would include subdividing the property between the existing community center and the new project site.”

WCC will need to raise funds to redevelop its property. HHFDC will be in charge of the new development, which will also include space set aside for WCC functions. This model is expected to operate like Hale Kalele at 902 Alder St., which was developed through a partnership with HHFDC, the Hawaii Judiciary and the Kobayashi Group.

In the case of Hale Kalele, the state owned the land, and the project included demolition of existing buildings and development of a 35,000-square-foot juvenile services center/shelter and a 20-story, 201-unit affordable rental housing tower and parking for families earning up to 60% of the area median income.

DETAILS ARE still pending for the WCC tower; however, an initial plan prepared by Callison RTKL included replacing the existing preschool with a tower. The tower’s lower levels would include a new preschool, office space and programming space. Some 355 parking stalls would top the center’s lower floors along with rental units for families earning up to 140% of the area median income.

The actual unit counts and parking would be determined by the HHFDC-led request for proposals process, as well as by entitlements.

Redevelopment of the existing Waikiki Health building and other center buildings outside of the preschool is not part of the current project; however, it is likely the center will address these needs in the future.

WCC said in its HHFDC submittal that it has been meeting for several years about the proposed project with housing development agency, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, various legislators, Gov. Josh Green and former Gov. David Ige.

The project garnered community support in July at a monthly Waikiki Neighborhood Board meeting.

“We need housing for sure and we also need that preschool. It’s a compatible mixed use,” said Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Jeff Merz.

“The standard NIMBY issues come up like clockwork in Waikiki. People say there’s ‘too much noise, we are getting too crowded and where am I going to park my car.’ But this is a good use of this property and the agency that is doing it has a good track record,” Merz said. “I don’t really think you will get public opposition to something like this.”