Maui Mayor Richard Bissen and community leaders joined the project developer Dowling Company and partners for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on a new 35-unit affordable rental home community in Wailuku, Maui.

Kehalani Apartments is an affordable housing ranging from one- to three-bedroom units for households earning 60% of the Area Median Income or less. About a third of the one-acre site will remain landscaped open space and will serve as a community gathering space.

“When a local family can’t find a place they can afford, we risk losing them,” said Bissen. “This project — led by a trusted Maui company with support from the state and county — answers the urgent need for housing that is within reach for local families. When we build together, in a way that honors the land and our community, we keep our people home.”

“Kehalani Apartments fills an urgent need for more high-quality and attainable rental housing for Maui families, and we are proud to be part of the solution,” said Jack Dowling, acquisitions director at Dowling Company.

Collaboration with Women Helping Women

Three units are reserved for clients of Women Helping Women, the Maui nonprofit that serves victims of domestic violence. Its Transitions program helps survivors who are homeless or at risk of homelessness find and hold permanent housing.

“We deeply appreciate the opportunity to partner with Dowling Company to make these units available to our clients in need of a safe space on their journey to permanent housing,” said Sanoe Kaʻaihue, executive director of Women Helping Women. “Every unit like this means there is one less family choosing between an unsafe home and no home at all.”

The project is located in Kehalani, a master-planned community of 2,400 homes, a 13-acre County of Maui Park, an elementary school, and bike and pedestrian pathways on 540 acres at the base of the West Maui Mountains in Wailuku, Maui. Dowling Company has been building out Kehalani since 2013, managing the community’s planning, entitlements, infrastructure, design and construction.

Dowling Company selected experienced local builder Maryl Group Construction, Inc. as the general contractor. Construction is expected to be completed in January 2028.

Kehalani Apartments joins a growing portfolio of affordable and workforce housing that Dowling Company has delivered or has underway across Maui, including Ke ʻAla Punia, which provides 47 rental homes for West Maui educators.