The nonprofit Hawaii Housing Development Corp., which has built several affordable rentals on Oahu, is moving forward on a plan to construct a nine-story tower in Waikiki that offers affordable rental possibilities for low-income and chronically homeless individuals with units as small as 250 square feet.
The project would add a second tower to Ainahau Vista, an affordable senior rental built by HHDC in Waikiki. The new tower would cater to low-income tenants with as much as 10 percent to 20 percent of the rental units being considered for the city’s Housing First program to support the chronically homeless, said Keith Kurahashi, president of Kusao & Kurahashi Inc., a consultancy assisting with the project. Kurahashi presented plans to the Waikiki Neighborhood Board on Nov. 18.
"If the development advances, this would be considered the first development that caters to seniors and possibly for formerly homeless clients in Waikiki. In the last administration, a Housing First development was considered in Waikiki but was not realized," said Jun Yang, executive director of the city Office of Housing.
Kurahashi said the tower, which would be built where there is currently a small park, aims to provide about 47 one-bedroom units averaging 400 square feet and 30 studios coming in at 250 square feet. Along with the tighter unit size, the development would have extremely limited parking and would have to get exemptions to density and other building rules.
The Waikiki Neighborhood Board, whose viewpoint is part of the developer’s application for a Waikiki Special District Permit, postponed taking a vote on the project until renderings for the unusual concept are made available.
Waikiki Neighborhood Board Member Larry Williams questioned the development’s billing as an "affordable family rental" given the small unit sizes.
"They are going to smaller units to reduce rental costs," Kurahashi said, adding that the size is most suitable to singles and single parents with a child.
Waikiki Neighborhood Board Member Walt Flood said he supports affordable housing but is concerned about the size.
"I’ve stayed in a 325-square-foot hotel room, and by the time you got the bed and a refrigerator in there, it seemed small," Flood said. "There’ll be nothing but complaints if you don’t have really good noise protection."
A GROWING CONCEPT
While the units will be smaller than some hotel rooms in Waikiki, they represent the wave of the future for municipalities all over the globe that are struggling to provide affordable housing in expensive, high-density settings.
The concept hasn’t been advanced in Honolulu, but cities like Seattle have been building them even smaller since the late 2000s. One example is Calhoun Properties’ micro-apartments dubbed aPodaments in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. These tiny units ranged 90 to 168 square feet.
The concept also is found in Victoria, B.C., where the Cool Aid Society partnered to develop Mike Gidora Place, made up of 250-square-foot units with lofts and fold-down counters and tables.
To meet the growing demand for low-income affordable rentals, other cities also are experimenting with the development of prefabricated stacked modular apartments, shipping container conversions and construction of flexible "grow houses" that allow young homeowners to build homes with rental space that can be converted into bedrooms when they expand their families, and back into rentals as they become empty-nesters.
It’s necessary to spread a variety of low-income developments around Oahu, said the city’s Yang. The 2011 SMS housing study estimates that demand for affordable housing comprises about three-quarters of Oahu’s housing need.
The city views zones around future rail stations as good opportunities to develop many types of housing, including low-income rentals, Yang said.
In Honolulu the city already is revising ordinances and zoning in these areas, said Harrison Rue, the city’s transit-oriented development administrator.
Plans developed with each community "call for more density and height, in return for more affordable and workforce housing," Rue said. "They also require much less parking, to lower costs and take advantage of transit, walking and biking."
The trade-off in size is often viewed as worthwhile, Rue said.
"Many cities are finding that young working professionals and seniors are glad to have a micro-unit as long as there are nearby parks and activities," he said.
TRADE-OFF IS GOOD
The Institute for Human Services, which runs the state’s largest homeless shelters and has one of the city’s Housing First contracts, said it supports the Ainahau Vista expansion in concept and encourages continued creativity in coming up with housing for low-income and homeless residents.
"Our message is that we need to consider all options because we have high demand and limited inventory of affordable housing," said Kimo Carvalho, IHS development and community relations manager.
The nonprofit has been working with architects on feasibility studies about what its clients could do in a tiny home.
"They are designing examples with our clients in mind, and we plan to share the feedback," Carvalho said.
The additional Ainahau tower would support IHS’ homeless outreach efforts in Waikiki.
"The reason that a lot of them (the homeless) don’t want any help is that they don’t want to leave Waikiki," he said. "If there was a unit in Waikiki with wraparound services, that would get them off the street."
While the project did not illicit negative feedback from the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, a couple of community residents were opposed.
Grace Chieu, who has lived near Ainahau Vista for 30 years, said the second tower could disturb ancient bones, or iwi, and destroy a park dedicated to the cultural history of the original Ainahau, the 10-acre royal estate of Princess Victoria Kaiulani.
"I talked to Hawaiian legal counsel, and if the iwi is over 50 years old, it’s a historical find and that would block you from building. I got nothing against the homeless, but I don’t want anything there. I want to walk in the park and think of the days gone by when my princess walked here. Everything on this island is built over. Nothing is sacred for the Hawaiian people anymore."
Dawn Ward, who has lived at Ainahau Vista for seven years, said the park was left to the city to develop a botanical garden and should be preserved as green space.
"That was the last tiny bit of land from the estate. It should be saved. It was a special place," Ward said.
But Kurahashi said city plans show the park was slated to be converted into parking. He added that bone fragments were found during an architectural survey but are believed to have been brought into Waikiki through fill material.
"There is a location on Ala Wai Boulevard where there is a burial spot. If we can, we would move it or try to build around it. In the past they have allowed buildings to go over such sites. We haven’t found a full grave site, but if we do we’ll make sure it is honored."
ENLARGE CHART
