To meet growing local demand and Governor Ige’s goals to help local residents, more affordable housing is coming online each month for working families and seniors in Hawai‘i. Recent projects include Kulana Hale in Kapolei, a mixed use complex of affordable rentals, and Kaiwahine Village for families in Kihei, Maui. Both projects are for those earning between 30 to 60 percent area median income (AMI).
Rendering of Kulana Hale project.
Kulana Hale partners with Rep. Sharon Har and Gov. Ige.
Phase I of the Kulana Hale project for seniors was praised by Michael Costa, the developer of Highridge Costa, for the amount of gap financing Hawai‘i’s Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RHRF) made available so the project could be 100 percent affordable. He called the state’s
RHRF “the best in the country” for the level of funding it provides, compared to the other 32 states and Puerto Rico where his company operates. Rep. Sharon Har said the advantage of this development is that it’s in the heart of Kapolei near the rail station, providing 154 units for seniors by 2020 with rents from $528 to $1,357 a month. The next phase will add another 143 units for families.
Rendering of Kaiwahine Village project.
Gov. Ige with Maui legislators and housing officials at Kaiwahine Village groundbreaking.
On Maui, the Kaiwahine Village project will provide 120 much-needed two- and three-bedroom rental units for families, with other Kīhei, Pukalani, Kahului and Wailuku affordable housing projects in the works. Governor Ige extended a special thank you to Mayor Alan Arakawa for starting a fast-track system to ramp up the pace of construction.
“These are all great examples of the public-private partnerships we’ve been able to develop,” said the governor. “We’re working with developers, housing advocates and state and county housing agency leaders to improve the system and produce more units faster. Let’s continue to work together to keep the momentum going.”