An estimated 324 units are planned as part of the Kaulana Mahina Apartments development in Central Maui.

The 14.4 acre development site is bound by Waiʻale Road in the east, Kuikahi Drive in the north, and Honoapi‘ilani Highway in the west, near Long’s and Walgreen’s at the border of the Kehalani and Maui Lani neighborhoods.

The workforce apartment project will include the construction of studios and one- to three-bedroom units.

Legacy Partners and representatives of the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust and other partners gathered on Thursday, Oct. 6, to celebrate the project.

Partners said the gathering sends a message that investing in community and supporting local families is vital to Hawai‘i’s well being. The event marks the first major investment of AFL-CIO Building Investments Trust in Hawai‘i in affordable workforce housing.

The fund, a commingled Fund of over 250 union pension plans, invests in commercial real estate nationwide. In Hawaiʻi, AFL-CIO members include the Hawaiʻi Government Employee Association, Hawaiʻi’s largest public-sector labor union, and all the Hawai‘i building and construction trades, numbering in the hundreds of thousands of workers.

“This is the first major new workforce housing project on Maui to be started in decades,” said Kerry Nicholson, Senior Managing Director, Legacy Partners. “Legacy Partners and the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust are proud to be part of the solution to solving Maui’s chronic housing crisis. We need more of these projects throughout Hawaiʻi.”

The professionally managed project will have many amenities for its residents—a gym, pool, yoga room, resident lounge, lawn area for a playground, and dog park—all included in the monthly rent.

“Kaulana Mahina is a welcome addition to Maui’s range of housing options for our hardworking residents,” said Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino. “It’s a top-notch development located close to jobs, schools, shopping, medical services and everything that working families could want from an affordable rental project. Built by, and for, the people of Hawaiʻi, today’s event marks another important step toward improving the quality of life for our local people.”

Following section 2.96 of the Maui County Code, the development is 60% affordable and is a 201H affordable housing project.

The developer is BIT Wailuku LLC, comprised of PNC Realty Investors, Inc., managing member Legacy Partners, Pacific Coast Capital Partners, Dowling Company, Pier Investments, and Schatz Collaborative LLC. The construction and design team is Moss & Associates, Clifford Planning & Architecture, Warren S. Unemori Engineering, Inc., and Group Pacific. The project is a collaboration with the County of Maui, the Mayor’s Office and Maui County Council, as well as Hawai‘i Housing Finance Development Corporation.

Kaulana Mahina expects to begin delivering homes in the late summer of 2023, with a lottery process opening in the months prior. More information will be released as it becomes available. To join the mailing list and to receive updates about the development, visit Kaulanamahinaapts.com.