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Hawaii real estate firm BlackSand Capital has made a three-year commitment of $300,000 to House Maui, a Hawaii Community Foundation initiative that is working to bring housing within financial reach of local Maui families.
“We see our pledge to House Maui as a natural complement to our real estate investments to strengthen our long-term commitment to the Maui community while contributing to solutions for the affordable housing crisis,” said B.J. Kobayashi, BlackSand Capital chairman and CEO.
“We believe investing in our Hawaii communities is crucial to
creating a thriving economy in the state and we are honored to work with the Hawaii Community Foundation in supporting this initiative.”
HCF has hired Keoni Kuoha to lead the House Maui initiative, which aims to bring together government, nonprofit, business and community leaders to create affordable housing solutions on Maui.
“We appreciate this significant gift from BlackSand Capital and their confidence that by working together, we can ensure successful outcomes for the House Maui program and for the residents of Maui,” said HCF CEO and President Micah Kane.
Kobayashi said the median price of a single-family home on Maui rose by 27% in December to $1.075 million.
“The statistics are alarming,” he said. “Residents are spending so much of their money on housing. Something needs to be done about this.”
He said BlackSand Capital also supporting affordable housing efforts on Oahu by providing financing for Community Preservation Partners’ acquisition of Smith-Beretania Apartments in Honolulu in partnership with local affordable housing developer Ahe Group.
“There are plans to not just keep the 164 units affordable but also to invest a lot of capital to improve them. Our financial support creates the foundation for this to happen,” Kobayashi said.
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