County of Hawaiʻi Launches New Online Tool for Tracking Affordable Housing Projects

News Release from County of Hawaiʻi, 07/19/2024

The County of Hawaiʻi has launched a new online tool to help residents track and find affordable housing projects on Hawaiʻi Island.

The County of Hawaiʻi Affordable Housing Dashboard provides a user-friendly interface where residents can easily view details such as project location and income limits, as well as status updates for the over 8,100 units in the affordable housing pipeline and thousands of existing rental units. This information is crucial for residents interested in understanding the availability and accessibility of housing options within their communities.

"Our commitment to enhancing housing opportunities for all residents of Hawaiʻi Island is unwavering. This new online tool reflects our dedication to transparency and accountability, ensuring that residents have the information they need to participate in the dialogue about housing development in our County,” Housing Administrator Susan Kunz said.

The landing page of the two-page dashboard presents an affordable housing overview of the County’s existing affordable housing units and projects that are planned for future development. Drop-down menus allow the user to choose the data they want to see for each property. The second page uses graphics to present additional project metrics in a clear and simplified way.

Explore the County of Hawaiʻi Affordable Housing Dashboard by clicking here.

Built entirely in-house by staff from the Department of Information Technology and Office of Housing and Community Development, the County of Hawaiʻi Affordable Housing Dashboard utilizes an array of information provided by various County and State agencies and non-profit and for-profit developer partners.

Future phases will incorporate additional data that will provide the opportunity for more detailed conversation with the community regarding affordable housing to support residents as the County works to build a stronger, vibrant community where all can work and play, and thrive together. 

"Our team has worked tirelessly to fulfill our promise of creating affordable housing opportunities for local families," said Mayor Mitch Roth. "This dashboard showcases our progress, increasing the housing pipeline from just over 1,200 homes to over 8,100. We hope residents use this technology to track our projects, learn about nearby opportunities, and, most importantly, hold us accountable for ensuring that our keiki can thrive and succeed for generations to come."

According to the 2019 Hawai’i Housing Planning Study, the County of Hawai’i needed to add 10,796 affordable housing units by 2025 to meet the community’s needs.

Since taking office in late 2020, Mayor Mitch Roth’s administration through the Office of Housing and Community Development has worked closely with its partner developers to increase the number of units in the affordable housing pipeline from about 1,200 units to over 8,100 units. By the end of 2024, the administration will have overseen the completion of over 500 affordable housing units for local families.

The County of Hawaiʻi Office of Housing and Community Development is responsible for the planning, administration, and operation of all County of Hawai’i housing programs. Our Mission is to provide for the development of viable communities through decent housing, suitable living environments and expanded economic opportunities.

More information on the Office of Housing and Community Development and its programs can be found online at www.housing.hawaiicounty.gov. To receive news alerts and OHCD’s quarterly newsletter, click here. You can also connect with OHCD on Facebook and Instagram.

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KWXX: County Launches New Online Tool to Track Affordable Housing Projects | KWXX - Hilo, HI

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