HHFDC Selects Master Planners for Kapolei Affordable Housing Project

Posted on Mar 31, 2024 in Main

The Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation’s (HHFDC) Board of Directors awarded developers ‘Ikenakea Dev­elopment LLC and The Michaels Organization, both a 75-year lease in early March to master plan and develop Haku Kapolei. The project will include up to 900 affordable rental and for-sale homes at one of the largest, remaining undeveloped properties in the Villages of Kapolei. The 19.4-acre property is located at Farrington Highway and Fort Barrette Road, next to the future Hawai‘i State Veterans Hospital and across from the Kapolei Walmart.

Haku Kapolei is scheduled to be built in three phases:
•     Phase 1: 344 rentals in two multifamily buildings. Units are to be priced for those households earning 30%, 50% and 60% AMI or below. 
•     Phase 2: 376 units in two, multi-family housing buildings, along with 95,000 square feet of commercial space anchored by a grocery store. Rental units will be priced for those households earning 30%, 50% and 60% AMI or below. The partnership also proposed adding 130 more units through a “higher density al­ternative.” Two, 170-foot mid-rise towers may be allowed if entitlements and financing can be obtained.
•     Phase 3: 50 for-sale units in nine, three-level fee simple town­home buildings that would be priced for those families earning between 80% and 140% AMI.

Governor Josh Green, M.D., applauded the partnership stating, “Affordable housing is among the top priorities for this admin­istration and Haku Kapolei will help us fulfill my promise to pro­vide more affordable housing for kama‘āina families.”

The property, often referred to as “the Kapolei Northwest Corner,” is the last major undeveloped piece of the Villages of Kapolei master-planned community that was envisioned by former Governor John Waihe‘e and the state Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HFDC), HHFDC’s predecessor agency, in the late 1980s.

To date, approximately 4,000 units have been built in the Villages of Kapolei, roughly two-thirds of which fall under the definition of affordable housing. The developers’ timeline calls for Phase 1 of Haku Kapolei to be ready for tenants in April 2029, and full buildout in April 2033.