Redevelopment is getting underway at one of the largest public housing projects in the state.
Work is finally set to start on the redevelopment of Mayor Wright Homes, a large public housing project on the edge of downtown Honolulu.
The project was built in 1953 and has 364 public housing apartments. It takes up nearly 15 acres in a block bounded by North King Street, Liliha Street and Vineyard Boulevard. It’s been slated for redevelopment for years, and now Highridge Costa Development Company plans to break ground on the first phase next week.
Company president Mohannad Mohanna says all tenants impacted by the construction have been relocated to other apartments at the same rent.
When it's finished, the new Mayor Wright Homes will be a mixed-income complex with 2,450 new affordable and workforce housing units. That includes the 364 public housing units for very low-income tenants that will be spread over the 10 new towers. The former Mayor Wright residents who've been displaced will get the first right to those apartments.
The company president says not all the new units will be public housing, but they will be income-restricted. He says that while the new complex will be mixed income, it will be for residents making no more than 100% of the area median income. That works out to about $150,000 a year for a family of four.
Mohanna says the first phases of the project will be for tenants at 60% AMI. The plan is to slowly transition to the higher-income restrictions for later phases.
He says it's one way to revitalize the area, by bringing in residents in a higher income bracket.
