Efforts move forward for more affordable housing on Maui after wildfires
LAHAINA and KIHEI (HawaiiNewsNow) - New efforts are chipping away at the shortage of affordable housing on Maui as developers focus on more permanent shelter for local residents who’ve desperately needed them.
In one effort, the Lahaina Community Land Trust is the new owner of a lot on Lokia Street. It used to have a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home that was destroyed in the Aug. 8 wildfires.
The owners — a couple in their 80s — left Lahaina to live with children on the continental U.S., but didn’t want their land to be commercialized.
“In the sale of their property, they want to also want to try to protect the community and give back to the community. And those are the kinds of transactions that I think we’ll be very successful at,” said Mikey Burke, president of the land trust board.
This is the first parcel sold to the nonprofit, which plans to build a home and two ohana units. The home would then be sold to a local family chosen through a lottery, with a 99-year-old lease on the land
The trust said that way. the homes are more affordable, and the land remains in Lahaina hands.
“Although we want to protect as much property as we can here, we know that it’s not going to be the case that we go after a hundred percent of the homes that come up for sale. But we want to try,” said Burke.
Meanwhile in Kihei, ground has been broken on Liloa Hale, a $77.9 million rental community for kupuna.
“When we saw what happened in West Maui, I think a lot of us knew — and I was Housing Chair in the house at that time — we really needed to really focus on permanent housing,” state Sen. Troy Hashimoto of Maui said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Developers said the three-story building will have one- and two-bedroom units for seniors 55 and over who earn 30 to 60% of the area median income.
“The kupuna of Maui were among those are most deeply affected by the tragedy, and this project will place 117 units into the housing inventory where it’s needed most,” said Hawaii Housing Finance and Development executive director Dean Minakami.
The developer, Highridge Costa Development, said construction will begin this month with completion set for March 2026.
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