Honolulu Office of Housing details pipeline of city land RFQs, bonds and affordable units

Kevin Auger, executive director of the Office of Housing, told the Honolulu City Committee on Housing, Sustainability, Economy and Health on April 1 that the office provided an update on the Affordable Housing Fund, recent requests for qualifications (RFQs) and requests for grant proposals (RGPs) for city-owned land, and progress on several city-supported developments.

The briefing matters because the projects discussed — a mix of renovations and new construction on public land — are tied to private activity bonds, city grant money and RFQs that the city says could support hundreds to thousands of affordable units across Oʻahu.

Auger said the Villages project awarded to the Kobayashi Group covers roughly 10 acres of city land and “406 units in total. 67 of those units opened in phase 1 in January of this year, and 234 units is scheduled to open in September 2025.” He described Haleveliku (the Aiea Sugar Mill property), awarded to EHA Development, as a 39‑unit project reserved for residents age 62 and older, limited to incomes between 30 and 60 percent of area median income and supported by $6,000,000 from the Affordable Housing Fund.

Auger said the city partnered with Peter Savio and Habitat for Humanity on Verona Village in Ewa Beach, a multi‑phase effort to renovate…