In its first development venture on Lana‘i, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is planning to build 136 single-family homes and 20 multifamily housing units on 50 acres on the outskirts of Lana‘i City.
A newly released draft environmental assessment and master plan describes the proposed homestead on former pineapple land just east of the Olopua Woods subdivision, built in 1992 and the last new neighborhood constructed on the island of 2,700 residents.
Like all DHHL housing projects, this one is designed for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. It will be on land donated to the state by Castle & Cooke Resorts in 1999.
Lana‘i Planning Commission Vice Chairwoman Sheila Black yesterday welcomed the project, saying it’s about time Lana‘i’s Native Hawaiian population is afforded the same housing opportunities available on other Islands.
"This is a great opportunity,’’ added Maui County Councilman Riki Hokama of Lana‘i. He said it is a good idea for Lana‘i to have homes built by a developer other than Castle & Cooke, which owns nearly all of the island.
The proposal calls for single-family lot sizes averaging 10,000 square feet and multifamily ‘‘kupuna’’ housing built at about 10 units per acre. A five-acre park and community center also is planned.
DHHL project manager Michele Otake said there is no estimate of the total cost of the development. Proposals will be sought from contractors, she said, with goals to start construction next year and to complete the first 25 homes in 2003. Future phases of the development will depend on demand, she said.
The department has been meeting with the group Kanaka Maoli o Lana‘i to gauge interest, get input and begin setting up beneficiaries for qualifying. The priority is to qualify Lana‘i residents first, then possibly former residents and others in the later stages of the project.
"The community seems to be pretty excited about it,’’ she said.
According to the draft environmental document, there are no rare, threatened or endangered plants or animals on the site, nor are there cultural resources of any significance.
The project needs approval from Maui County before it can proceed, Otake said.
