Hundreds of affordable housing units owned and/or financed by public entities, in 10 developments, were lost in the wildfires. This program will establish processes to support the rebuild of affordable housing units lost in the wildfires and the construction of new affordable housing. It will prioritize replacement, and potential expansion, of lost units to account for the growing need of affordable housing in the area. The initial seven sites of this program remain in public ownership (except the Low Income Housing Tax Credits [LIHTC]-funded project).

Combined, these projects provided well over 700 units of affordable housing for Maui residents before the fire. While these projects were an important supply of housing for Maui, there remains a great need for additional housing units to meet demand. This program supports the reconstruction of these projects, and where feasible, expansion to include additional units and/ or new affordable housing projects to meet the continuing and growing need. The actual level of affordability is unknown at this time, though it is likely to be set at similar levels as the projects were pre-fire. These projects are identified as a “program” to signify the great need for affordable housing, and to, at a minimum, match the unit number and affordability levels of the former units.

This program intends to replace and expand affordable housing by reconstructing the following 10 projects that were lost in the wildfires.

One State-owned property:

• Front Street Apartments (142 units)

Two properties owned by the Hawai’i Public Housing Authority:

• David Malo Circle (18 units)
• Piʻilani Homes (42 units)

Three County-owned properties:

• Komohana Hale (20 units)
• Lahaina Crossroads (20 units)
• Ka Hale A Ke Ola (94-unit homeless resource center)

Three properties owned by private nonprofit organizations:

• Hale Mahaolu Eono (35 units) that is jointly financed by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Lahaina Surf (112 units) (financed by HUD)
• The Weinberg Court (62 units)

An additional project was privately held, but financed through LIHTC, issued by the State and federal governments:

• Kaiāulu O Kupuohi (89 units)

• Publicly funded housing is expensive and complex to build
• Extensive permitting and financing must be obtained, likely well beyond what is available post-fire
• Each project will need to be located outside of known hazard areas and planned, permitted and constructed as an individual project