Honolulu mayor's office outlines rail‑area redevelopment, new housing finance proposals and plan to consolidate housing functions

The Mayor's Office of Housing presented an update Wednesday to the Honolulu City Council Committee on Housing, Sustainability, Economy and Health on a draft city housing plan that focuses on activating transit‑oriented development around Cooley Station, expanding financing options to build more housing at multiple income levels, and reorganizing city housing functions into a proposed Department of Housing and Land Management.

Kevin Oje, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Housing, told the committee the plan "builds on previous reports" and lays out strategic priorities and measurable steps to increase housing production, noting high local housing costs including a "$1,100,000 median home price" and "median rents approaching $2,000." He said the plan aims to concentrate growth near rail stations and to use public land to spur development.

The plan highlights the Cooley Station redevelopment area — described in the presentation as roughly 20 acres bounded by Dillingham Boulevard, South King Street, Evollet Road and Cooley Street — as the immediate priority for a mixed‑use, transit‑oriented district. The city has acquired several parcels there, including a First Hawaiian Bank branch (closed December 2023) and the Veil Center property (closed January 2024). The presentation said city land holdings amount to about 42% of the redevelopment area and combined state and city holdings reach about 75% of the site, creating a "unique opportunity" for coordinated redevelopment.

The office said preliminary modeling from the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), provided through EPA technical assistance, indicates the site could "conservatively support 1,500 to 2,000 housing…