Maui developer plans affordable community

[urbanguy]

Maui developer plans affordable community

Location - aerial

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. has proposed building more than 450 homes for low- to moderate-income residents on Maui as part of its proposed expansion of Kapalua Resort.

Company subsidiary Kapalua Land Co. recently notified the state that it is preparing an environmental impact statement for a master-planned community of 895 homes, an elementary school, community gardens, parks and walking trails on 312 acres of former West Maui pineapple fields surrounding Kapalua Airport.

The project, called Pulelehua, is designed in part to satisfy anticipated county requirements for Kapalua Land to provide affordable housing in relation to its proposed expansion of Kapalua Resort.

Kapalua Land plans to add 690 homes on 900 acres around one of the resort's three golf courses, the Village Course, under a plan announced three years ago called Kapalua Mauka, which also could expand the Village Course by nine holes.

Pulelehua and Kapalua Mauka would be the two biggest real estate development projects in the history of Maui Land & Pine, which alone or with partners developed the Kapalua Bay Hotel, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua and roughly 700 residential units at the resort.

The affordable housing component of Pulelehua would provide housing for some of the company's roughly 1,400 workers, and ease needs of residents in one of the costliest home markets in the state.

"It's a major concern with home prices going over $600,000 now on the west side (of the island)," said Bob McNatt, senior vice president of Kapalua Land. "We want to take care of our employees and take care of the West Maui community."

Pulelehua was designed with the help of Florida-based town-planning firm Dover Kohl & Partners and Maui community members who participated in public design sessions in March.

The vision is to create a modern community reminiscent of small towns 50 years ago where children walked to school and parents walked to church or the corner store.

McNatt said the elementary school will be in the center of the community. Residential units would be a mix of single-family and multifamily homes for sale and for rent, with some units placed above commercial shops. There would be no shopping or commercial center, with business uses limited to neighborhood services like caf

[wolfdawg54]

That is a cool project for Maui! It definitely flows with the rest of the island.

[urbanguy]

^Yeah it looks like it will turn out to be a nice project