A Native Hawaiian community group and five residents have moved to block the first phase of Ledcor Maui's $471 million Wailea development, arguing the project threatens water supplies and cultural resources in South Maui. The Maui Planning Commission granted their request to intervene on October 27 and ordered the parties into mediation, setting the stage for a contested case hearing if talks fail.
Mālama Kakanilua and five residents sought to intervene, according to Maui Now. They raised concerns about water supply and cultural resources in South Maui.
Ledcor Maui LP is proposing 273 first-phase residential units spread across three multifamily communities in Wailea, a scope the developer itself confirms on its LEDCOR Maui planning page, which describes the phase as providing a total of 273 residential units. The first phase includes 233 market-rate units, four income-restricted employee units and 36 deed-restricted workforce rental units, the station's report notes. Those 36 workforce units are intended for households earning up to 120% of area median income and are meant to remain deed-restricted in perpetuity, according to Ledcor's own Wailea Workforce Housing page.
Three Communities, Very Different Price Tags
The larger of the two market-rate communities sits at Wailea ‘Ike Drive and Kālai Wa‘a Street and includes 147 units across three six-story buildings and two three-story buildings, with an estimated cost of $270 million, the article notes. A smaller market-rate community across from Wailea Fairway Villas on Kālai Wa‘a Street includes 86 units in three six-story buildings and two two-story buildings, plus two one-bedroom employee units, carrying an estimated cost of $185 million, per the same account. Both communities share amenity buildings with a spa, fitness room, shade pavilions, dining trellis, pool and manager's office.
The workforce housing community, estimated to cost $16 million, will sit on Wailea ‘Ike Drive above the Residence Inn and includes 36 one- to two-bedroom units across three three-story buildings that will remain workforce units in perpetuity. Ledcor attorney Casey Lamb said the project would not allow short-term rentals or overnight use, the outlet reports. Lamb also said additional parcels would be submitted for permitting later, with future plans not exceeding 975 units.
Kimi Yuen said the area is among the last entitled development parcels from the original Wailea resort, which was planned as a 1,500-acre residential resort community, per the same report. Ledcor has previously developed the 75-unit La‘i Loa resort community in Wailea, the outlet notes.
A Much Bigger Project Looms Behind This Phase
Beyond the first phase, Ledcor's larger South Maui properties project may ultimately include 925 to 975 units across eight properties in Kihei and Wailea—seven in Wailea and one in Kihei—a figure consistent with what Maui News reported when Ledcor presented its Final Environmental Impact Statement, describing a single-family and multifamily residential development of 925 to 975 units across eight properties totaling 156 acres in Kihei and Wailea, including 780 market units and 195 workforce units. At full capacity, Ledcor's larger project is expected to include about 900 market-rate units, which would require 225 workforce units under the project's obligations. Per the Final Environmental Impact Statement, about 10 percent of market-rate units are expected to be full-time residences.
How that workforce-unit requirement gets satisfied has not been decided, with Maui Now reporting the obligation could be met through on-site and off-site housing or in-lieu payments to the county affordable housing fund. The state's acceptance of the project's Final Environmental Impact Statement was published April 23, 2025, in the Environmental Review Program's Environmental Notice, per LEDCOR Maui's planning materials, and no development is currently planned on what the company calls the Large Parcel during this phase.
Water Supply Emerges As a Flashpoint
Central Maui water demand is expected to reach 98% to 100% of maximum reliable capacity within three years, according to a letter from John Stufflebean to the planning department cited by the outlet, and Stufflebean said no additional source capacity is available for new or expanded water service, per Department of Water Supply comments referenced in the report. The first project phase is expected to consume 106,731 gallons per day, according to the Special Management Area permit application, while all project parcels combined are expected to use 558,000 gallons per day at full buildout, per the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
Separately, Maui County's broader infrastructure planning has flagged similar strain: the Central Maui water system is operating at 98% to 100% of maximum reliable capacity with no additional source capacity available for new or expanded service, according to Maui Now's coverage of a County Council panel reviewing the draft South Maui Community Plan. Countywide water demand is projected to grow 47%, from 33.5 million to 48.5 million gallons per day, between 2015 and 2035, per the Hawaii Journalism Initiative, and the Central-South Maui system is expected to need another 6 million to 10 million gallons per day by 2040.
Alexander & Baldwin built a water tank to serve the project properties and dedicated it to the Maui County Department of Water Supply, which has used the tank since 2008, Maui Now reports. Ledcor and the Department of Water Supply reached an allocation agreement providing a 1 million-gallon storage credit; per the Stufflebean letter, 360,050 gallons of that credit have been used, leaving 639,950 gallons remaining. Lamb said the project has sufficient tank storage and will use only a fraction of the available credits, while groups including Maui Tomorrow and Wailea808 have raised concerns about South Maui water availability more broadly. Petitioner Clare Apana also raised concerns about water availability.
Cultural Resources and a Changing South Maui
John Kahawaii said South Maui is changing as expensive homes and higher property taxes push out long-time families, per the outlet's reporting. Kahawaii, a descendant of Honua‘ula, raised concerns about water and fishing grounds. Another petitioner is Victoria Nohealani Palafox-Kaluna.
Ledcor's cultural advisory group helped develop a nonprofit called Ulu-a-Paeahu to steward open spaces and archaeological and cultural resources tied to the project, which will receive 2.5 acres of open space for restoration, a nursery and demonstration gardens. Contributions from market housing are contemplated to help fund the nonprofit.
‘Āina Archaeology tested 88 trenches across four parcels and conducted a pedestrian survey covering the entire project area, according to the outlet. The survey found one historic property consisting of low stone enclosures consistent with World War II uses, which will be preserved on site.
What Happens Next
After its October 27, 2026, action, the Maui Planning Commission ordered mediation, and the parties agreed to retired Maui judge Joel August as mediator. If mediation fails, the dispute moves to a contested case hearing conducted by the Maui Planning Commission acting as hearings officer.
The dispute echoes an earlier chapter in Ledcor's South Maui ambitions. A prior Maui News report covered Ledcor's environmental-review process in December 2022. How the current mediation unfolds could shape not just this phase but the remainder of Ledcor's planned build-out across its eight South Maui properties.
