The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands will work with Kamehameha Schools to build an 84-acre residential housing and educational project in Maili.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission unanimously approved Tuesday a memorandum of understanding with the educational trust on the learning community.

Alapaki Nahale-a, chairman of the department, said, "We look forward to developing a (Hawaiian) homestead community with an integrated state-of-the-art education facility to serve beneficiaries along the Waianae Coast."

In May the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands acquired the site in Maili through an exchange of 34 acres of land in Molokai with the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The Maili property was described as ideal for residential development because of roads, flat terrain and centralized location along the Leeward Coast.

In April 2010 developer Jeff Stone agreed to donate 230 acres to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and 67 acres to Kamehameha Schools for a Makaha Valley educational facility. The plan also envisioned construction of affordable housing.

But after almost three years of discussion, the deal fell through this past summer when Stone and Kamehameha Schools could not reach an agreement on the terms.

Kamehameha Schools spokesman Kekoa Paulsen said "this was an important first step" to work cooperatively to advance the schools’ mission to support thriving communities on the Leeward Coast.

Kamehameha Schools Board Chairman Douglas Ing said he envisions the project bringing valuable services to children and families that will strengthen and improve community and educational well-being on the Waianae Coast.

Ing said he will ask Kamehameha Schools Chief Executive Officer Dee Jay Mailer to move forward with planning of the project.

Nahale-a said the department is excited about collaborating with Kamehameha Schools. Despite initial problems, the department never wavered from its commitment to the project, he said.