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The City and County of Honolulu is turning a three-story apartment building in McCully-Moilili into affordable housing, Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced on Tuesday.

Honolulu purchased the property at 754 McCully Street in May for $4 million, the city said in a news release. It consists of eight one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units. Each apartment was recently renovated and includes a lanai and new flooring, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, appliances and a fresh coat of paint.

“Increasing our housing inventory remains a priority of this administration, especially during the pandemic as thousands in our community remain unemployed or struggling to make ends meet,” said Caldwell said in a statement. “Making Honolulu more livable for those in the lowest income brackets is necessary if we want to continue to thrive as a close-knit island community.”

Hawaii Affordable Properties, Inc. was hired to be the property manager. The city said the property is ideal for families. Rent is $1,200 for the one-bedroom units and $1,500 for the two-bedroom units – targeted to households making 60% or less of the area median income. 

The acquisition was funded by an appropriation lead by City Council Budget Chair Joey Manahan, the city said.

“The critical need for affordable housing is only getting greater with the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic,” he said in a statement. “This property at 754 McCully Street responds to that need for truly affordable housing where it’s needed most, in Honolulu’s urban core.”

Since 2016, Honolulu has “acquired, completed or is in development to add” 1,328 housing units to the city’s affordable rental housing portfolio for a total of 2,508 units.

Honolulu will need 22,168 new housing units between 2020 and 2025, according to the , a pre-coronavirus report released by the Hawaii Housing Finance Development Corporation. The 2020 report hasn’t yet been released.