On the hillside above Lahaina, a community of nearly 500 modular homes is taking shape. The sleek, futuristic design of the units has floor-to-ceiling glass running their entire length, with views overlooking the ocean.
The first nine ʻohana moved in last week.
It’s called Ka Laʻi Ola, or "The Place of Peaceful Recovery.”
“Ka La’i Ola consists of 450 units, ranging from studios, one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedrooms. It's designed in a layout that will allow for a sense of community,” said Joe Campos, deputy director of the State Department of Human Services.
He said the units are grouped so generational ‘ohana can live near each other.
“We had the groundbreaking on April 30. Started active construction with site work on May 1. So in three months, nearly 57 acres has been cleared,” he explained. “It's designed to ensure that we take maximum benefit of the location. There's fantastic vistas, and so we really hope that this will be a place where people can peacefully recover.”
The project will be completed in phases over the next eight months. Residents will live there at no cost until next August. After that, Campos said nominal fees may be charged to cover operating costs.
The housing will be used for fire survivors for the next five years. The property will then be turned over to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
The development is a partnership between the state and HomeAid Hawaii.
Campos said not all modular units will have the same design. There are 90 of the glass-type homes, with four different suppliers providing the 450 total units.
Inside the units, HomeAid’s Maui Senior Project Manager Kalewalani Bancaco gave HPR a tour.
“Feel free to take a look around," she said. "This is our one bedroom, one bath. Every room has a mini-split HVAC, stove top, and of course, we will help provide a refrigerator.”
Full-length curtains can be pulled down over the windows for privacy. The homes are modern and airy, and arrived on Maui fully assembled and ready to slide out of 40-foot shipping containers.
“These units specifically come with dining table and tables, like small little pieces of furniture,” Bancaco continued. “For the rest of everything, we are going to tap into our local philanthropy resources so that if they need help getting linens or pots and pans and things like that, they'll have access to that.”
Nearby, a FEMA development called Kilohana is also taking shape. It will have 169 modular units. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently doing site preparation and leveling on it.
“The noise you hear, that is the sound of progress here on this site, and it soon will have houses set down upon it, and those will be occupied by survivors who are trying to regain their foothold in West Maui and the place that they call home and love while they wait for their homes to be rebuilt in Lahaina town,” explained Col. Eric Swenson with the Army Corps.
Completion of groundwork is expected in October, when the site will be turned over to FEMA for installation of the housing units.
Swenson said their work has also included installing permanent sewer lines that will help nearby Lahaina residents in the rebuilding process for their own homes in the future.
