A rare vacant site currently leased month-to-month to a parking company is ideal for a new mixed-use development for affordable or workforce housing in the County of Hawaii and street level retail businesses. The relatively fat 19.366 sf parcel is located at the corner of Keawe Street and Haili Street. The CDH zoning district allows uses such as mixed-use commercial/retail, offices, and senior living facilities including assisted living with no parking requirement, and residential with one parking for each unit. Building height limit is 120 feet. This downtown corner site is outside of the boundary of Tsunami zone (SMA) and a convenient location close to public transportations and with all underground public utilities connections available.
There is no FAR or density requirement for commercial developments. For market rate residential developments, one unit per 1,000 sf of land area while a 10% bonus is awarded for affordable housing projects, i.e. 39 market rate residential units and 43 affordable or workforce units. According to the Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD), this property is a viable candidate for Section 201H approval for a mixed-use development with substantially more affordable or workforce units that qualify for funding by Hawaii Housing and Financing Corporation (HHFDC).
Per the Office of the Governor website: Hawaii has the most expensive housing prices in the United States because it has failed to sufficiently build homes for its residents. The current housing shortage has led to a crisis of increasing homelessness and migration to the mainland which threatens the ‘ohanas and way of life across Hawaii. The Proclamation Relating to Housing was first signed by Governor Green on July 17, 2023. On September 15, 2023, Governor Green signed the Emergency Proclamation Relating to Affordable Housing, which prioritized the many state and affordable housing projects with the goal to simply and speed up the Section 201H application approval through the State versus the County Council.
The “ENVISION DOWNTOWN HILO 2025”, a community-based vision and living action plan for Downtown Hilo identifies Keawe Street as downtown Hilo’s main and primary thoroughfare. A MAI appraisal dated April 29, 2025, is available upon request. Architectural schematic study drawings for the mixed use 43-unit affordable/workforce and the Section 201H approval required developments are available upon requests. Please call and leave a voicemail for the listing agent for more information.