Wildfire-destroyed Kaiāulu o Kupuohi affordable housing reopens, fully occupied

Hunt Capital Partners celebrated the reopening of Kaiāulu o Kupuohi, an 89-unit affordable housing community in Lahaina that was destroyed in the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

Working with managing general partner Blieu Companies and co-general partner Ikaika ʻOhana, the team rebuilt the LEED Gold community within what they called “an extraordinary timeline” to keep its affordable housing financing intact.

Redevelopment had to be completed within 24 months of the fire to preserve critical federal and state LIHTC funding, according to developers.

Access to the site was controlled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for about six months following the fires, leaving a compressed construction window for contractors to complete work on time.

Developers say Bank of Hawaiʻi, Maryl Construction, Design Partners Inc., and the County of Maui formed the public-private effort that made the deadline possible.

The community is now fully occupied, with roughly half returning residents and half fire survivors.