A&B plans 600 Maui homes
Alexander and Baldwin Inc. has taken the first step in its plans to build a 600-unit residential community in Kihei.
A&B's real estate subsidiary, A&B Properties Inc., is seeking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement for the development, which would be built on 94.3 acres of agricultural land. It is A&B's first residential project in Kihei and its second in South Maui.
The proposed $151 million development would include single-family and multi-family units as well as a 1.4-acre neighborhood commercial area, said Dan Yasui, director of planning and entitlement for A&B Properties.
"We are building within areas that are already urbanized," he said. "The infrastructure is fairly reasonable in that area."
The land is part of more than 68,000 acres the company owns on Maui, including resort residential units in Wailea. A&B has applied to have the property reclassified to urban from agricultural and will issue a final environmental impact statement next year.
A&B estimates construction will begin in 2011, with building continuing through the next five years, assuming all entitlements are obtained. Infrastructure development, including roads and utilities, will cost $59 million, with structure construction totaling $92 million.
In compliance with Maui law, 40 to 50 percent of the units are to be classified as affordable housing. Sales prices for affordable units will be set at the time of development, based on Maui's median family income, according to A&B.
Michael DiBella, head of the Kihei Community Association Planning Committee, said his biggest concern is that the city's infrastructure supports the planned units. The association has been working for several years with the investment group developing the 1,400-unit Honua'ula property.
"When it comes to development, we do need to look smartly," he said. "Water and waste water services -- those are the two biggest impacts on the community -- traffic is also a huge impact."
A&B plans to meet with the community association as the project moves forward, Yasui said.
The development also includes parks and open-space areas, as well as trails and bike paths that will connect to existing parks. Access will be off the Piilani Highway and Kaiwahine Street on the makai end of the project. Several access points to adjacent properties are planned within the mauka portion of the property.
The draft environmental impact statement is available at the state Land Use Commission office in Honolulu and at the Kihei Public Library. Comments must be sent to the Land Use Commission at P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, HI 96804 by Nov. 23.