Eighty affordable rental homes in Līhuʻe just got a new lease on life. A $7 million rehabilitation of the Kalepa 23 apartment complex has wrapped up, preserving the units for local families and kūpuna for years to come, with crews replacing the solar water-heating system, repairing exterior dry rot, repainting interior and exterior surfaces, and swapping in new flooring, appliances, cabinets and light fixtures throughout the property.
The completion was marked Oct. 15 with a gathering and blessing at the Kalepa Village Community Center, led by Kahu Jade Waialeale Battad, according to Kauaʻi Now. Crews also replaced plumbing fixtures and interior doors in all 80 occupied units, upgrades the publication reports were intended to enhance residents' living conditions and extend the development's useful life. Separately, The Garden Island reported that the rehabilitation marks the long-term preservation of the 80 affordable rental homes, with Shioi Construction serving as general contractor for the project.
A Complex Built for Working Families and Elders
Kalepa 23 — made up of Kalepa Village phases 2 and 3 — consists of eight two-story residential buildings with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, per the same Kauaʻi Now report. The community serves households earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income, with units specifically designated for households at the 30, 50 and 60 percent income levels, and Kauaʻi County owns the land beneath the development. Kauaʻi residents interested in the rental requirements can find details on the Kalepa Village website, the outlet notes.
Andy Friend, executive director of the Kauaʻi Housing Development Corporation, said preserving existing affordable housing helps address the island's housing needs while retaining homes for local residents and improving established communities. “This investment ensures that 80 affordable homes on Kauaʻi will remain available to local families and kūpuna for years to come,” Friend said, according to the Kauaʻi Now report.
Funding Drew on Public and Private Partners
The rehabilitation was financed through a combination of public and private sources, including federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, according to the same account. The Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp. supported the work through its Rental Housing Revolving Fund — a program the agency describes as supporting the development, construction, acquisition, preservation and substantial rehabilitation of affordable rental housing units statewide, according to the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation. Bank of Hawaiʻi and the Rural Community Assistance Corp. also provided support and financing for the project, the report states.
Adam Roversi, housing director with the Kauaʻi County Housing Agency, said the project had been in the works for a long time and involved considerable effort to bring together. “It sets this place up for another 30 years of smooth operations,” Roversi said, per the report.
Mayor Points to Broader Push for More Units
Kauaʻi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said he felt grateful that the project showed care for residents, adding that the county is working both to add new housing units and to rehabilitate existing ones. He urged residents still searching for housing not to give up hope, according to the Kauaʻi Now account.
That broader push includes the Kauaʻi Housing Development Corporation's plans to develop Phase Two of the Lima Ola subdivision in ʻEleʻele, which is expected to include 175 new homes, with the agency hoping to break ground in early 2027. The Fiscal Year 2026 funding package already includes $3.15 million for the Lima Ola Affordable Housing Subdivision, according to Kauaʻi Now's February report on federal funding for island housing and transportation projects. At full build-out, the 75-acre, county-owned Lima Ola subdivision is projected to provide roughly 600 permanently affordable homes developed in five phases, The Garden Island reported in December.
Other projects in the pipeline include a planned Ahukini Road development in Līhuʻe, where the Kauaʻi Housing Development Corporation and Kauaʻi Habitat for Humanity are collaborating to create 111 units of housing, including 48 kūpuna rental units and 33 multifamily rental units, according to the February Kauaʻi Now report. The same project is designed to add 30 for-sale homes in 15 two-story duplex buildings, primarily for households earning 80 percent of area median income or less, per Kauaʻi Habitat for Humanity. Further north, the Kilauea Town Expansion Project is planned to deliver about 350 affordable rental and for-sale homes, with $2 million from the same federal funding package earmarked to advance Phase One site preparation.
