A Draft Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact was published for the Hale Pilina Family Affordable Rental Housing project in Kahului, Maui.

Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation is proposing the project in response to the current and projected shortage of affordable housing in Maui County.

The project site is comprised of approximately 4.8 acres of land on Pu‘unēnē Avenue. The Kahului Post Office borders one part of the north side of the property; and the Salvation Army site, the Coach Spencer Shiraishi Memorial Pool and South Kaulawahine Street border parts of the property on the west.

According to the Draft EA, the proposed project will consist of four three-story buildings containing 178 apartment units for rent and related improvements. Of those units, 108 units will be one-bedroom units, while the remaining 70 units will be two-bedroom units. An additional two-bedroom unit will be provided for the Resident Manager with Hale Mahaolu providing onsite property management.

The document notes that a portion of the subject property is currently vacant and was formerly used as the site for the Maui Swap Meet, which has since moved to its current location at the University of Hawai‘i Maui College campus.

According to the draft document: “The Project site, through many decades of urban growth in Kahului, has been subdivided from a larger parcel, first by Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Company and then subsequently, by Alexander and Baldwin and Alexander and Baldwin Properties. What is currently the Project site has never been developed beyond a public park space and overflow parking for the Maui County Fairgrounds and Racing Association, which took place across Puʻunēnē Avenue.”

The Applicant, CCHDC, is in the process of acquiring the site from the current owner, A&B Properties Inc.

The project is proposed for construction in two phases, with each phase expected to take 16-18 months to complete. The estimated cost of construction for the entire Project is approximately $66 million dollars, according to the draft document.

Short term benefits to the local economy outlined in the document include construction-related employment and related spending. In the long term, the proposed project seeks to provide “much needed affordable family housing at a central, accessible location in the main urban area of the island.”

A 30-day public review and comment period is currently underway with comments due by Jan. 22, 2021.