Plan to sell city-owned apartments announced
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
A plan to sell more than one thousand city-owned apartments could generate more than $140 million but faces lots of scrutiny to ensure low-income residents aren't left homeless.
• Bachelor's Quarters, 91-1216 Renton Rd., 10 units • Chinatown Gateway Plaza, 1031 Nu'uanu Ave., 200 units • Chinatown Manor, 175 N. Hotel St., 90 units • Harbor Village, 901 River St., 90 units • Kanoa Apartments, 846 Kanoa St., 14 units • Kulana Nani Apartments, 46-229 Kahuhipa St., 160 units • Manoa Gardens Elderly, 2790 Kahaloa Dr., 41 units • Marin Tower, 60 N. Nimitz Highway, 236 units • Pauahi Hale, 126 North Pauahi St., 78 units • Westlake Apartments, 3139 Ala Ilima St, 96 units • West Loch Village Elderly, 91-1450 to 91-1480 Renton Rd., 150 units • Winston Hale, 1055 River St., 94 units Some buildings include additional units not up for sale.
The city wants to put 12 residential properties — from 'Ewa to Manoa — on the chopping block, and to start a program for some renters to buy their apartments.
City apartments that may be sold
Mayor Jeremy Harris said the sales would include requirements that subsidized "affordable" units remain reserved for lower-income tenants.
And residents who earn 80 percent or less of the median income will be eligible to buy apartments in some buildings, he said.
"They'll be able, if they want, to buy their unit and pay the same rent they've been paying except they'll basically be buying it with a zero-interest loan," Harris said Friday.
Few details about the rent-to-own plan were immediately available. But it would apply to 311 subsidized apartments, according to documents sent by Harris' administration to the City Council.
The city will set a minimum price for each property and offer it to the buyer who submits the highest sealed bid, one letter says. A total of 1,259 units ultimately would be for sale, and proceeds would go mostly toward paying off city debt and building up a reserve fund.
Harris said the properties would generate a total of $141.8 million, and retire $117 million in debt.
The City Council has requested that a master plan be created before any of the properties are marketed, and that no apartments be converted to condominiums — a requirement that could clash with Harris' plan.
Any sales would require council approval, and Councilman Gary Okino said the policy is not binding and could be amended to allow the apartment sales if they benefit low-income tenants.
It is important to make sure tenants aren't displaced, because it's very difficult for many to find rental housing they can afford, he said.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
