City council to discuss sale of 12 affordable housing complexes
A Honolulu city council committee will meet today at 5 pm to discuss the sale of city-run affordable housing units to a private firm, Honolulu Affordable Housing Partners LLC, for a price of $142 million in cash and an additional $42 million in improvements to the 12 facilities. Gordon Pang, reporting for the Star-Advertiser, quotes Keith Ishida, director of the city housing office:
"It's a transaction that will relieve the city taxpayer of the need to continue to subsidize these properties while providing residents with a much better living environment because they'll get, basically, $42 million in capital improvements over three years," Ishida said. "That's something our city could never do given our fiscal condition." Some residents and FACE worry that rents may go up under the new management arrangement. However, Ishida said, "that's something that transcends this particular transaction. … No matter who buys these properties, rents have to go up."
The meeting is at 5 pm today at Mission Memorial Auditorium. If approved, the bills will come up for a final vote before the full Council at 10 a.m. Wednesday.