Catholic Charities Hawaii expects to complete construction of a 178-unit affordable housing project in Kahului by the end of 2026 that would help address the imperative need of residents who suffered serious loss in the August wildfires.

Robert Van Tassell, CEO and president of the nonprofit, said, “We are working with the state and county to give priority to those impacted by the wildfire.”

Since “being impacted by the wildfires can be more than having lost your home,” he said, the government agencies need to determine how they want to define the individual effects of the disaster, as it also might include job loss and related factors. The agencies include the Maui County Council and the state Hawaii Housing Finance Development Corp.

Construction is scheduled to start in October on Hale Pilina, a project designed to serve families, on about 5 acres at 150 S. Puunene Ave. Two three-story buildings and two four-story buildings will comprise 89 one-bedroom units, 89 two-bedroom apartments and a resident manager unit.

Van Tassell recently announced plans for Hale Pilina at the dedication ceremony for a multipurpose building at Kahului Lani, representing the final phase of a 165-unit low-­income apartment complex for adults older than 55. The first and second phases of residential units were completed in 2020 and 2021.

The top floor of the new two-story multipurpose building has been occupied by Catholic Charities office staff for almost a year, Van Tassell said, with each floor containing 3,750 square feet. The ground floor was originally intended as a community hub where meetings and classes could be held by neighborhood groups, but has been put temporarily to use since November for emergency disaster case management by the Red Cross.

Hale Pilina is the second affordable housing project on Maui developed by the nonprofit’s subsidiary Catholic Charities Housing Development Corp. Since 1999 the affiliate has owned, developed and managed real estate properties to provide affordable housing for the seniors, special-­needs people and other socially or economically disadvantaged people.

Van Tassell said the project already has received county approval for utilities, and is awaiting state and county approval for building permits and financing. He said that “we’ve been very pleased” with a Maui County policy that has fast-tracked the processing of affording housing permits, noting that approval for Kahului Lani was quick.

Hale Pilina is estimated to cost close to $90 million to construct, mainly financed with tax-exempt bonds, state and federal low-­income tax credits, and the state’s Rental Housing Revolving Fund.

Maui residents who earn up to 60% or less of the area median income will be eligible to rent. (The AMI is a benchmark established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine eligibility for affordable housing projects.) Depending on household income, monthly rent for a one-­bedroom apartment at Hale Pilina can range from $499 to $1,151, and for a two-bedroom, from $573 to $1,355. Utilities are not included in the rent.

“We are currently looking at other land on Maui that could be available for us to build on, for more family units and for kupuna (older adults) as well,” as part of the nonprofit’s support of the community’s recovery, Van Tassell said.