Alexander & Baldwin Inc. advanced a step closer toward developing a 600-home subdivision on Maui after the County Council approved a zoning change Friday for a 95-acre property in Kihei on which sugar cane was once farmed.

A&B announced the approval Monday after Maui Mayor Alan Ara­kawa signed off on the zoning ordinance.

The company said the project will include a mix of single-family houses and condominiums at market and below-market prices that meet Maui County affordable-housing regulations.

The first homes should be complete in 2018, according to A&B, which still needs subdivision approval and has yet to do design work.

A&B has been working on the project for several years, including publishing an environmental impact statement in 2007 and obtaining state Land Use Commission approval to urbanize the property in 2009.