First Permanent Affordable Housing Since 2023 Maui Wildfires Opens Today in Lahaina

LAHAINA, Hawaii--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 16, 2025--

Blieu Companies and non-profit Ikaika ‘Ohana, in collaboration with development and financial partners, celebrated the grand opening of Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia at a blessing ceremony held today from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Located at 101 Kūku‘ia Street near the Lahaina Bypass Highway, the 200-unit affordable housing development is comprised of 25 garden-style buildings that offer 100 two-, 75 three-, and 25 four-bedroom apartment homes. Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia represents the first permanent multifamily affordable housing development in Lahaina to introduce newly built residences for local families following the 2023 wildfires, making it a significant advance in the stock of Maui’s housing solutions.

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The development adds 200 high-quality housing options in Maui County, an area that has not only continued to face a chronic housing shortage but has been intensified due to the loss of more than 2,000 housing units in the 2023 wildfires. High housing costs in Maui County have put homeownership out of reach for many and, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, local families need to work 3.2 minimum-wage jobs to afford a two-bedroom apartment at market rent. Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia offers rent-restricted homes for 197 families who earn up to 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% of Area Median Income (AMI), enabling residents to save an average of 53% in annual rent compared to market rate options. Three additional units are exempt manager’s units.

“Our mission is to create developments that give back more than they take—attractive places that enhance the lives of our tenants, strengthen surrounding communities and serve working families,” said Douglas Bigley, President & Director at Ikaika ‘Ohana. “Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia is designed to be energy-efficient, welcoming, and rich with amenities that bring people together. By fostering connection and accessibility, we designed Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia to be a net contributor to the Lahaina area.”

Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia recently earned LEED Gold certification for its sustainable design—recognizing excellence in water conservation, energy efficiency, materials use, and indoor environmental quality—providing tenants with healthier, more comfortable, and cost-saving homes. Each home features a balcony or patio, air conditioning, energy-efficient ceiling fans, and modern kitchens fully equipped with a refrigerator, range/oven, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia offers numerous shared common areas such as a clubhouse with kitchen, dining and meeting space, a teen room, a classroom, playgrounds for all ages, BBQ and picnic areas, onsite management, a community garden, social service offices, and laundry facilities throughout the site.

Ikaika ‘Ohana will provide free on-site social and educational programs that are designed to meet the needs of tenants. Led by an onsite community program coordinator, the initiative will engage residents and Lahaina neighbors through surveys and focus groups to shape responsive, community-driven programming. In collaboration with local organizations and volunteers, these services will promote health, education, economic independence, and family and senior well-being.

Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia also features a Bezos Academy preschool, which will offer year-round, full-day, Montessori-inspired programming for children 3-5 years old, at no cost to families served.

To commemorate the event, government officials, residents, and key project partners provided remarks, which included speeches from:

Following the blessing ceremony, guests participated in guided property tours and enjoyed live entertainment from musician Kamalei Kawa'a. Meals from local community businesses such as Aloha Plate, Star Noodle, and Teppanyaki To-Go, a resident-owned restaurant, were offered to all attendees.

Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia was financed, in part, with $83 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and $41 million in Hawai‘i state LIHTC syndicated by Hunt Capital Partners with equity from a network of investors that include Bank of Hawai‘i, CVS Health, First Hawaiian Bank, Central Pacific Bank, American Savings Bank, First Insurance Company of Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Employers Mutual Insurance Company.

“Access to safe, affordable housing is foundational to better health outcomes. Our investment in Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia reflects our commitment to supporting resilient communities and helping families rebuild with dignity and stability,” said Keli Savage, Head of Impact Investment Strategy at CVS Health. “We’re proud to stand alongside our collaborators in bringing lasting, meaningful change to the community of Lahaina.”

Other financing sources included an $84 million construction loan and a $21 million permanent loan from Bank of Hawai‘i, with participation in the construction loan from Central Pacific Bank and Finance Factors, as well as a $37 million soft loan from the Hawai‘i Housing Finance Development Corporation through its Rental Housing Revolving Fund.

“Bank of Hawai‘i is honored to support the Kaiāulu o Kūku‘ia project and the families beginning a new chapter at this development,” said Christopher Abbott, Senior Vice President and Senior Affordable Housing Manager at Bank of Hawai‘i. “Affordable housing is a cornerstone of recovery for Lahaina, and Bank of Hawai‘i remains committed to investing in projects that bring lasting stability and dignity to our communities.”

Blieu Companies and Ikaika ‘Ohana jointly led as developer and managing general partner, leveraging their extensive regional expertise in affordable housing development. Construction was executed by Maryl Group Construction, Inc. for vertical development and Goodfellow Bros, Inc. for site work. Design Partners Incorporated served as the architect of record and ThirtyOne50 Management, LLC is the property management agent.

Environmental Social and Corporate Governance (“ESG”) Investing

Hunt Capital Partners recognizes that its institutional investors are seeking to increase the social value of their investments to help further their ESG initiatives. Investment in affordable housing improves the living conditions of its residents. It helps remove obstacles that impede creation of a healthy, safe, and stable home environment for low-income families and seniors' families spend less on housing-related expenses, they have more resources for other essentials such as food and clothing, extracurricular activities, and educational programs. One of the most significant benefits of providing quality affordable housing is an increase in an individual’s physical and mental health. Hunt Capital Partners’ affordable housing investments create a lasting effect on the people and communities they serve for generations to come.

About Hunt Capital Partners

Hunt Capital Partners (HCP) is the tax credit syndication division of Hunt Companies, Inc. (Hunt). HCP specializes in the sponsorship of Federal and State Low-Income Housing, Historic, and Solar Tax Credit Investments funds. Since its inception in 2010, HCP has raised over $3.9 billion in tax credit equity in over 48 proprietary and multi-investor funds, financing development in 48 states and territories. Founded in 1947, Hunt is a privately held company that invests in businesses focused in the real estate and infrastructure markets. The activities of Hunt’s affiliates and investors include investment management, asset management, property management, development, construction, consulting and advisory. For more information on HCP, please visit www.huntcapitalpartners.com, or for Hunt, please visit www.huntcompanies.com.

Photo Credit: D&T Designs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)