BlackSand Capital has entered into a three-year commitment of $300,000 to House Maui, a Hawaiʻi Community Foundation initiative working to create a sustainable housing market for local families on Maui.

“We see our pledge to House Maui as a natural complement to our real estate investments, to strengthen our long-term commitment to the Maui community while contributing to solutions for the affordable housing crisis,” said B.J. Kobayashi, Chairman and CEO of BlackSand Capital. “We believe investing in our Hawaiʻi communities is crucial to creating a thriving economy in the State and we are honored to work with the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation in supporting this initiative.”

BlackSand Capital has acquired two commercial properties on Maui in the past year—the Royal Lahaina Resort, a 500-room hotel on 27 beachfront acres in Kāʻanapali, and Premier Place, a 50,000-square-foot office building in the Maui Research and Technology Park in Kīhei.

BlackSand Capital cited census data, saying 51.3% of Maui families who rent are cost burdened, meaning they pay more than 30% of their income toward housing. On Maui, the median price of a single-family home rose by 27% in December 2021 to $1.075 million.

The House Maui initiative brings together stakeholders to create a sustainable housing market for Maui families. The initiative has three main approaches to reach this goal including: aligning resources to create regional infrastructure, supporting Maui residents with knowledge and financial empowerment to reach their housing goals, and encouraging community voice by families impacted by the housing crises to participate in creating solutions. HCF recently hired Keoni Kuoha to lead the initiative as director.

“We appreciate this significant gift from BlackSand Capital and their confidence that by working together, we can ensure successful outcomes for the House Maui program and for the residents of Maui,” said Micah Kane, CEO and President of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. “BlackSand Capital’s commitment to our local community is an example of how we can work together to solve our greatest challenges in Hawaiʻi.”

The Royal Lahaina Resort and Waikīkī Galleria Tower acquisitions were the largest investments by a local investor in Hawaiʻi last year, according to a recent report by Colliers International Hawaiʻi.

BlackSand Capital is a Hawaiʻi specialist private equity firm. Its principals have overseen the investment of approximately $5 billion related to Hawaiʻi properties, including investments in workforce and affordable housing, hotels, residential condominiums, and retail, office and industrial buildings.