An $11.6 million, 48-unit affordable rental housing project will open soon in Mililani Mauka.

Gov. Linda Lingle and other officials today are expected to attend a dedication and blessing of The Courtyards at Mililani Mauka, six two-story townhouse buildings of affordable rentals.

The rental homes are for households whose income is at or below 60 percent of the O'ahu median income, or up to $44,700 for a family of four, said Peter Daniels, a Castle & Cooke representative. Projected monthly rents for the one- to three-bedroom units range from $737 to $1,008.

The project is a partnership between the state Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., the non-profit Pacific Housing Assistance Corp. and developer Castle & Cooke Homes Hawai'i Inc.

Hawaii Housing Finance and Development is providing $10.1 million over 10 years in federal and state low-income housing tax credits to help finance the project, which will remain at affordable rates for 30 years, according to Daniels.

Castle & Cooke provided the land and equity financing and built the project, and Pacific Housing Assistance Corp. will manage and operate the rentals.

All 48 units have been filled, Daniels said. Applications were taken in June, and renters are expected to begin moving in next month, he said.

Officials broke ground on the project — located near the intersection of Ko'olani Drive and Ukuwai Street — in September 2005, and units were completed last month.

Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance executive director Doran Porter said the project is a "welcome addition" to O'ahu's housing inventory and that he hopes more will follow.

"Anything that we can do at all to get additional inventory on the market is fantastic," Porter said. "Forty-eight units unfortunately will not even make a dent in the need, but I'm grateful that they're doing that, and I'm grateful that they've at least locked ... (affordable rates) in for 30 years."

Skyrocketing home prices and higher rents in recent years have pushed homes out of reach for thousands of local residents.

A legislative task force last year estimated that more than 30,000 new housing units will be needed on O'ahu by 2009.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.