Hawaiian developer Maui Land & Pineapple Co. agreed to, at no cost, lease land to the state to build temporary homes for residents displaced by the Maui wildfires.
The Lahaina, Hawaii-based firm plans to lease 50 acres of vacant land to the state of Hawaii for five years at no cost, Maui Land said in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The property is part of a 1,377-acre parcel in an area known as Honokeana, near Napili in Lahaina, Maui.
The plan is to build about 200 homes, with construction beginning before the end of the year, according to Russell Pang, a spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Transportation.
The move shows how the area is still trying to recover more than a year after a combination of high winds and dry weather fed wildfires on the island of Maui on Aug. 8, 2023, killing more than 100 people. It was one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in at least a century, destroying more than 2,200 structures, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's U.S. Fire Administration.
Thousands of people were left without shelter, leading to an immediate shortage of homes. Soon after, housing costs jumped.
"Housing affordability is a challenge across the islands, but nowhere worse than on Maui," according to a forecast issued by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization in the third quarter. "Full Maui home rebuilding will take many years, and in the meantime, rents have shot up."
Condominiums across Hawaii "face a crisis in obtaining master policy insurance, prompting the state to intervene," the research organization stated. "Overall construction will continue at a high level, supported by Maui rebuilding, other housing development, and the huge federal military projects."
State funding
Under the terms of the agreement with Maui Land, the state will fund all costs to complete the project, including roughly $35.5 million to complete the necessary land improvements, according to the SEC filing.
Maui Land has agreed to build the homes at its cost and won't directly profit, the document states.
After the end of the lease, the state will remove any improvements unless Maui Land requests that specific improvements remain, Maui Land said in the regulatory filing.
Maui Land will prepare the land for development and is committed to building the homes if the state agrees, the developer said in an emailed statement. The type of homes and the cost are still being determined, according to the company.
"Aligned with the Company’s mission to put its assets into productive use to address the critical needs of the community, MLP is committed to completing this project to ensure families affected by the 2023 wildfires have a safe place to live while they navigate their future," the company said.
Maui Land, founded as a family business in 1909, said it has more than 22,000 acres with approximately 260,000 square feet of commercial properties and land for future residential development.
The company also participated in the development of the Kapalua Resort, home to luxury hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton Maui and Montage Kapalua Bay.