A state board has selected a local developer to build a high-rise for low- to moderate-income renters on state land once occupied by the old Pohukaina School in Kaka'ako.

Directors of the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp. on Thursday selected a proposal by Stanford Carr Development to build an 18-story complex with 196 rental units called Halekauwila Place.

The $76 million project on the makai-diamondhead corner of Keawe and Halekauwila streets is intended to create affordable housing on part of a parcel considered for more than a decade for an affordable rental tower and other uses.

The project also is designed to integrate a mix of families and young professionals with a range of incomes in a building bearing little resemblance to concrete monoliths typically erected for affordable housing.

"It really will be a first-of-its kind project," said Orlando "Dan" Davidson, Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp. executive director.

Halekauwila Place is designed with most units in an 18-story tower. An adjacent four-story parking garage will be fronted on two sides with townhouse-style residential units and topped with a pool and recreation deck.

Unit sizes range from about 540-square-foot studios to three-bedroom units with 1,310 square feet. Monthly rental rates in 2010, when the complex opens, are estimated to be $900 to $2,500 and meet affordability guidelines for tenants earning 80 percent to 140 percent of Honolulu's median income.

MANAGED BY NONPROFIT

Halekauwila Place was one of four plans considered by the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp. in response to a request for proposals issued in October.

Though Stanford Carr Development is the project's developer, Halekauwila Place will be owned and managed by local nonprofit Pacific Housing Assistance Corp. The state will continue to own the land and is granting the project a 65-year lease at $1 a year.

The developer is financing the project using a tax-exempt bond arranged through the state and underwritten by Citigroup. A general excise tax exemption is also being granted.

Stanford Carr said he anticipates breaking ground next year if there are no problems with permitting approvals, some of which need to be obtained from the Hawai'i Community Development Authority.

"We're pretty excited about this," Carr said. "We hope to set a new standard for affordable rental housing."

The 1.25-acre project site is part of a nearly seven-acre block — bounded by Pohukaina, Keawe, Halekauwila and Cooke streets — that includes Mother Waldron Park, a public library system operations building, a closed road and a parking lot.

The Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp.'s piece comprises the parking lot, while other state agencies and the city own the rest of the block.

FORMER SCHOOL

The larger site had long been home to Pohukaina School, which was built in 1912 and at one time had more than 1,100 elementary students. But Kaka'ako's residential population dwindled as industrial businesses transformed the area, and in 1967 the school was converted for use by disabled students. The school was relocated to Kaimuki in 1980, and the building was demolished.

Since then, the block has been considered for a federal prison, Office of Hawaiian Affairs operations, state offices, affordable housing and a new school.

In 1992, the Hawai'i Community Development Authority issued a request for proposals to build an affordable rental high-rise on the site, but that $54 million project fizzled amid the state's economic slowdown.

An idea to develop a new school integrated with affordable housing was briefly floated in 1997. Then in 2005, the Kaka'ako development authority explored the idea of an affordable high-rise and charter school space to serve the area's expanding residential population, but the plan hasn't advanced.

Davidson said the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp. wanted to get affordable housing built quicker by pursuing a simpler project as opposed to trying to master-plan the block with other agencies. The balance of the block still could be redeveloped later.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.