An initial phase of rental housing for low-income seniors in Mililani Mauka is poised to break ground soon after a state agency provided key tax credit financing Thursday.

The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. approved tax credits for a 76-unit first phase of the three-story project called Meheula Vista proposed by local affordable-housing developer Gary Furuta and Catholic Charities Housing Development Corp.

Furuta of GSFLLC has been working on the 301-unit project since 2010, when he arranged to buy 7.5 acres at the corner of Meheula Parkway and Kuaoa Street from Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii.

Furuta borrowed $9.7 million from HHFDC to buy the land and pay for planning and design work. But several efforts to obtain additional financing from the agency in each of the past three years were turned down as competing projects outscored Meheula Vista.

Earlier this year Furuta arranged to deed the land to HHFDC in return for forgiving the loan, and again sought tax credit financing for an initial phase projected to cost $18.5 million.

On Thursday the agency’s board approved $1.2 million in federal credits and $597,845 in state credits. The credits can be claimed annually for 10 years, making them worth close to $18 million.

The developer projects that the first phase can be finished by the end of next year. Future phases would be subject to financing.

Monthly rent for nearly all the one-bedroom apartments is expected to be $898 for seniors earning no more than 50 percent of Honolulu’s median income, which equates to $33,550 for a single person or $38,350 for a couple. Four units would rent for $539 to seniors earning up to 30 percent of the median income.