Kalihi Site to Hold 2,400 Homes in 15-Year Rebuild of 75-Year-Old Public Housing

State officials and community leaders broke ground on Thursday on the first phase of a project to replace Mayor Wright Homes, a nearly 75-year-old public housing complex in Kalihi-Palama near downtown Honolulu. The redevelopment covers 15 acres bounded by King Street, Liliha Street and Vineyard Boulevard.

The Hawai'i Public Housing Authority and developer Highridge Costa plan more than 2,400 rental homes on the site, ranging from studios to five-bedroom units. The development will also include public housing units, condominiums for sale, commercial space and four acres of public parks. The units will be spread across 10 towers. Hakim Ouansafi, executive director of the housing authority, said the project would produce seven times as many homes as the current complex and serve a mix of incomes rather than only very low-income residents.

More than half of the units will be reserved for tenants earning below 80% of area median income. Later phases will include households earning up to 100% of area median income, a figure the housing authority estimates at roughly $150,000 a year for a family of four. Current residents displaced by construction are being relocated and will have priority to return.

The housing authority estimates Phase 1A will cost $333 million. The state's 2017 estimate for the full project was $1.3 billion. Gov. Josh Green said housing supports other parts of life. "Housing provides health," he said, noting that people with stable housing can focus on education, food security and health care.

Moe Mohanna, president of Highridge Costa Development Company, said, "What we are building here is a legacy." Ouansafi said, "Public housing should never mean second class housing." Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi tied the project to the Skyline rail line, calling the combination historic and unprecedented for affordable housing. The site is designed to be within walking distance of the planned Iwilei rail station.

The first building is scheduled to open in 2029. Officials estimate the full redevelopment will take 15 years.