Posted on: Saturday, May 19, 2001

Kukui Gardens trying to lower amount of rent hike

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Residents of the Kukui Gardens apartments are breathing a sigh of relief today after learning that their rents will not shoot up by as much as 37 percent in July.

But managers of the huge and aging federally subsidized complex say some form of rent increase is necessary to pay for electrical repairs and to build up financial reserves.

Kukui Gardens facilities manager Allen Lau said they would modify the proposed rent increase and seek approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development soon.

"We're sitting down with HUD and trying to see how we can make adjustments," he said.

Carol Anzai, president of a tenants' association called the Kukui Gardens Guild, said she knows it is only a matter of time before rents go up at the 19-acre site across Nu'uanu Stream from Chinatown. But she said any changes must be manageable for residents on fixed incomes, especially seniors.

"Now, at least, we have some time, but I told people, don't breathe too easy because they're still going to try," Anzai said. "We know it's going to happen, but not all at once."

HUD officials informed tenants of the 857-unit complex Thursday night that they had rejected the first rent proposal, which Kukui Gardens managers had announced 10 days earlier. It would have raised the monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment from $414 to $567. Four-bedroom rents would have jumped from $748 to $1,025, and all tenants would have had to pay for utilities, which rents currently cover.

Though still below market rate, the proposed new rents left some tenants fearing they would be left on the street. Kukui Gardens managers and HUD officials offered to refer them to agencies that could assist them with rent or help them move.

Anzai said tenants have organized a petition drive and have contacted their congressional representatives to make them aware of tenants' concerns. The controversy has been unnerving, but it also included a bright side, she said: "We do have a lot of power when we have a lot of people behind us, and we found that out."

The complex is owned by the nonprofit Kukui Gardens Corp. and is subsidized through a low-interest HUD mortgage, according to a HUD spokesman. In return for the subsidy, the owners must keep the complex affordable to low- and moderate-income residents for the life of the mortgage.

Last year, HUD praised the complex with an "award of excellence" and a $124,000 grant for programs to fight drugs and crime.