$1 billion development in Waikoloa gets approved
Star-Bulletin staff
A Big Island real estate developer has obtained regulatory approvals to move forward with a $1 billion development that will create 385 affordable housing units in Waikoloa.
The approval by the Hawaii Land Use Commission gives Bridge Aina Le'a LLC and joint venture partner Cole Capital/Westwood Development Group LLC the right to move ahead with the 1,000-acre planned community, which includes schools, parks, golf courses and 1,924 residences.
A predecessor development company, Nansay Hawaii Inc., had been required to develop 60 percent of the project's housing units as affordable homes under conditions imposed by the Land Use Commission. But after taking over the project from Nansay, Bridge Aina Le'a had argued that it was not economically feasible to sell the majority of the units for less than the market price.
Bridge Aina Le'a estimated that it would have had to tack on about $720,000 to the cost of each unit to be sold at market prices to offset losses under the previous conditions.
The new requirement, approved yesterday, means Bridge Aina Le'a will have to sell 20 percent of the units as affordable homes, with 10 percent of the units affordable for residents earning 120 percent of the median income for the Big Island, and 10 percent for residents earning 140 percent of the median income.
Although that still will require adding $166,000 onto the cost of the each unit sold at market prices, Bernard Bays, an attorney for Bridge Aina Le'a, said the additional costs were manageable.
Executives hailed the approval as a victory not just for the developers, but also for workers on the Big Island, who often must commute from the other side of the island to work in the resort area, where affordable homes are in short supply.
"The workers are the backbone of this community and Bridge Aina Le'a has committed to providing 385 homes that working-class families can afford," said Hoolae Paoa, chief executive of Bridge Aina Le'a.
"The real story is the support for the change was overwhelming, and the need for affordable housing is so great in that part of the island," Bays said.
Bridge Aina Le'a is a sister company of Bridge Capital LLC, an international real estate and lending company based in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Bridge Capital had assets of $175.4 million as of June.
First Hawaiian Bank has indicated a willingness to extend Bridge's credit line from $30 million to approximately $80 million, which would provide over $50 million in additional development financing for the project, Bridge Aina Le'a said.
In addition to the residential units, the developer plans to build a 25-acre retail and entertainment center, a 30-acre school site to be dedicated to the Department of Education, 26 acres of neighborhood parks and a network of walking and cycling paths.
The developer predicts affordable-unit residents could occupy the last of the 385 affordable homes within three years.
Construction of roads and infrastructure, to be performed by Goodfellow Brothers Inc., is scheduled to begin immediately, the developer said.