Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 3, 2022

DHHL to Publish Final EA for Isenberg Rental Project

(Mōʻiliʻili, Oʻahu) – The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is preparing to publish a final Environmental Assessment (EA) with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on the redevelopment of its 820 Isenberg Street property in Mōʻiliʻili, Oʻahu. Stanford Carr Development was selected as the project developer through the request for proposals process. 

A review of the significant criteria outlined in HRS Chapter 343 and HAR Section 11-200.1-13 on the redevelopment of the property has been determined to not result in significant adverse effects on the natural or human environment.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC) evaluated the final EA and issued a FONSI determination at its April 2022 HHC meeting. The final EA and FONSI will be published in the Environmental Review Program’s The Environmental Notice on May 8, 2022.

The draft EA was presented to HHC and published in The Environmental Notice periodical in December 2021. As part of the development process, DHHL hosted a virtual Beneficiary Consultation meeting on Thursday, January 13, 2022, on the findings of the draft EA and collected public comment during the statutory 30-day public review and comment period which concluded on January 24, 2022. A total of five public comments were received and incorporated into the final EA.

“A Finding of No Significant Impact and the publication of the final EA for this project is a major step in its development,” said Deputy to the Chair Tyler Iokepa Gomes. “This will be the first product of its kind offered by the Department in its 100-year history and indicates DHHL’s continued willingness to expand on our product offerings to provide diversified options that meet the current and growing needs of our beneficiaries. An affordable rental development is unique in that it provides the opportunity for stable housing while also allowing for those on the DHHL Waiting List to ready themselves for a future lot award and homeownership.”

The property is located at the site of the former Stadium Bowl-O-Drome bowling alley, which opened in 1955 and closed in 2004. DHHL acquired the land from the Department of Land and Natural Resources in 1995. Currently, the site sits unoccupied.

DHHL’s 210-foot, 23-story high rise will consist of 277 affordable rental units for native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. Building amenities will include management offices, laundry and mailrooms, and community facilities. A four-story, 264-stall parking structure is planned to be lined with seven townhouse units and 4,680 square feet of retail space along Isenberg Street with an additional 20 on-grade parking stalls.

Projected costs for construction stand at approximately $100 million, financed through a combination of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the State’s Rental Housing Revolving Fund, and private sources. DHHL will not expend any of its trust funds or legislative appropriations toward the development of this project.

Construction is expected to break ground later this year pending the securing of the above-outlined financing and the acquisition of building permits.

To learn more about the Isenberg Street project and review the final EA, visit dhhl.hawaii.gov/po/oahu. 

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About the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands:
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands carries out Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole’s vision of rehabilitating native Hawaiians by returning them to the land. Established by U.S. Congress in 1921, with the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the Hawaiian homesteading program run by DHHL includes management of over 200,000 acres of land statewide with the specific purpose of developing and delivering homesteading.

Media Contact:
Cedric Duarte
Information and Community Relations Officer
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
(808) 620-9591
[email protected]