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DHHL breaks ground on first beneficiary‑only high‑rise in urban Honolulu; 278 units planned
Summary
The Department of Hawaiian Homelands and development partners broke ground on Kola Ho (Hale Moʻili), a 23‑story, 278‑unit rental tower for DHHL beneficiaries in central Honolulu; applications open July 1 with a July 1–17 priority window and property management by Hawaii Affordable Properties.
The Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) and development partners marked the groundbreaking for Kola Ho (also referred to in presentation materials as Hale Moʻili), a 23‑story rental building at 820 Eisenberg Street that DHHL said will provide 278 units exclusively to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.
"This landmark occasion ... will produce 278 homes for Hawaiian families," Chair Khali Watson said, connecting the project to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and saying the Legislature has provided roughly $600 million to DHHL for multiple projects statewide.
The developer, Stanford Carr Development, described a competitive RFP process that began in 2019 and said construction is running ahead of schedule, with initial move‑ins targeted for September and a goal to complete lease‑up by December. "We're four months ahead of schedule," the developer said.
The project site will include a 23‑story residential tower, a 290‑stall parking structure, seven three‑bedroom townhouses and retail shells along Eisenberg Street. Unit mix presented by the development team is 23 studios, 23 one‑bedrooms, 203 two‑bedrooms and 22 three‑bedrooms, with community amenities that include a community room, computer lab, tot lot, community garden, surfboard and bicycle storage, and EV charging in the garage.
Kola Ho is being developed under a low‑income housing tax credit (LIHTC) structure with HUD‑published income and rent limits. Randy McEnroe, regional property manager for Hawaii Affordable Properties, said the property will serve beneficiaries earning up to 100% of area median income (AMI) and that the Nahazda project‑based subsidy (a DHHL‑funded subsidy analogous to Section 8 for this project) will be available to households at 80% AMI and below to reduce tenant rent obligations.
The project team emphasized that the financing carries conditions and a 15‑year compliance period tied to LIHTC rules; DHHL also said it will explore, over time, options to convert some units to ownership pathways or to issue homestead leases, but those conversions would require lender and HUD approval and are not immediate.
Applications for Kola Ho will go live July 1 on the project website and the DHHL site. The property manager said there will be a priority application window from July 1 to July 17; applicants must remain on the DHHL wait list and complete a separate property application to be ranked for initial interviews.
Next steps: applications go live July 1, interviews and document collection will follow, and the team expects to begin moving residents in as early as September, with full lease‑up targeted by the end of the year.
