Lokahi Pacific receives $600,000 for Kihei homes and apartments.

Papa‘anui LLC donated $600,000 to Lokahi Pacific as part of their 3.5-acre project in Makena, Lokahi Pacific Executive Director Kamaile Sombelon announced recently. In conjunction with the county’s approval of their development project, Papa‘anui LLC has partnered with Lokahi Pacific to provide assistance with Lokahi’s development and coordination of a new seven-unit home ownership single-family housing project in Kihei, and to provide assistance in refurbishing an eight-unit Kihei apartment complex for rental by residents whose earnings are 80 percent or less of Maui’s median income.

“Affordable housing is a priority for Maui County, and it’s a priority for Lokahi Pacific,” said Sombelon, upon announcing the donation.

A portion of the $600,000 will be used to “buy down” the cost of the homes to make them affordable. The 1,100-square-foot, three-bed room, two-bathroom units are planned to sell for $250,000. Each home will include all appliances, including a washer and dryer.

The existing rental units to be refurbished are one-bedroom, one-bath apartments, now renting for $800 per month. They were built 25 years ago.

“The tenants we have helped are so happy,” said Som-belon. “They are long-term tenants—tenants that have been there more than 10 years. With a portion of these funds, we will be able to provide them with stability and to provide them with quality housing for the long-term.”

Bill Frampton is a partner in Papa‘anui LLC along with Dave Ward and John Santos. “We were blessed to be able to do a project in Makena, and even though we were exempt from the council’s affordable housing requirement, we still wanted to give back to the community,” said Frampton.

“We have to be taking care of Maui residents. That’s got to be a priority,” said Ward. “We all need to be giving back in these ways.”

According to Maui County Housing and Human Concerns Director Vanessa Mederios, “Lokahi Pacific has been a leader in our community providing affordable housing, and we are ecstatic to partner with them in the provision of affordable housing for our working families. We certainly hope that other developers will look at this and want to help out our community,” she said.

To learn more about how to qualify for programs operated by Lokahi Pacific, visit www.lokahipacific.org or call 242-5761.