Our Approach to Bill 7 & Urban Infill Housing
Early Leadership in Bill 7 Implementation
Before Bill 7 existed, before urban infill became the norm, hi.arch.y llp delivered Keauhou Lane Hawai‘i’s first LEED Platinum, transit-oriented, midrise affordable housing community. It was also the state’s first precast midrise, a system that earned a national PCI award and later became a national model for efficient, durable, replicable workforce housing.
When Bill 7 passed, hi.arch.y llp took an active leadership role by:
✓ Assisting lenders in rolling out Bill 7 loan programs
✓ Helping landowners understand feasibility and incentives
✓ Developing the first small-lot precast Bill 7 prototype
✓ Creating a kit-of-parts system shared openly with the community
✓ Proving that infill housing can be efficient, durable, and replicable—even on irregular parcels
hi.arch.y developed a precast model and kit of parts in conjunction with GPRM Prestress that could be utilized on R-5 lots and still hit the efficiency and economy of scale required to make those projects pencil.
Why Precast?
- COST
- Cost is always king for affordable housing projects. For small projects that have lower economies of scale, ( ie. a podium to allow residential units elevated over parking at grade) anything under $300.00 PSF isn’t realistic. With our precast approach however, it is achievable.
- TIME
- Translation: cost. (See COST above) Choosing the precast approach with the hi.arch.y llp team will shave months off the erection process and allow rough in and finishes to commence sooner Time saved = money saved.
- DURABILITY
- Translation: cost. (again…See COST above) Choosing our precast approach will deliver the most durable product possible for an affordable rental project. Operating multifamily housing has high rental turnover and repair costs are the largest expense.
- LOCAL
- Translation….once again; COST. (see a theme here…) Our approach to precast is entirely locally sourced. Hawaii’s worst enemy to affordable construction - shipping costs. Keeping this part of the build process local - eliminates shipping costs.
Experience with Precast
The hi.arch.y llp team has the experience to deliver complicated precast projects. Our LEED Platinum - Keauhou Lane affordable rental project is precast. Our design experience was recognized nationally with the 2018 Precast Concrete Sustainable Design Award, the only project in Hawaii to ever receive this award in it’s over 50 year history. Hi.arch.y llp also recently served as the local AOR for the ASB Campus -precast and was the first Class A office tower built in Honolulu in over 25 years. Experience with precast is critical.
Experience with Multifamily
Affordable multifamily design is directly benefitted from past experience. Hi.arch.y llp has years of experience with complicated mixed use multifamily. Multifamily brings with it it’s own set of issues and increased exposure. With the thin profit margins that come with affordable housing, having experience in this genre will save your team time & money.
Experience with Honolulu
You can certainly find others on the mainland or internationally who have experience with precast multifamily projects abroad but that experience rarely translates to high performance in Hawaii. Supply lines, local contractor capacity and connectivity, long term relationships with local building departments all help a precast project hit their efficiency levels.
Experience with Sustainability
As Hawaii’s first firm to be led by a WELL A.P.- since 2016, who is a LEED A.P. and a C.E.M. (Certified Energy Manger) hi.arch.y llp has long since had a focus on occupant health, wellness & sustainability. While every project may not pursue WELL or LEED certification, we certainly have the experience to bring solid benefits to all our projects. Our prior affordable housing projects that obtained sustainable certifications, validate that these properties have had lower turnover and tenants attracted to these properties stay longer and take much better care of their rental units. Tenant retention and low turnover costs both drive substantial benefits to increasing revenue stream and reducing costs during operation.