Kuilei Place

Overview

Kuilei Place is a unique project because of its location and intention. It's being designed by locals for locals. Kobayashi Group, a locally owned and operated real estate development company, has an impressive portfolio because of their well-known luxury developments including Hokua, Park Lane in Ala Moana, and their new release Alia in Kakaako, however, many locals don't know that they've also done successful affordable housing projects like Hale Kalele on Piikoi.

Seeing that Kobayashi Group has decided to work with HHFDC's 10-year buyback term versus DPP's 30-year buyback term, makes this project look even more promising. Not only did they make the right decision to maneuver through the red tape, but they're also exceeding the minimum requirements (60% of the units will be offered as affordable housing while the minimum is 50%).

We'll be following this project closely, so sign-up below if you're interested in the lottery or getting updates on pricing, floor plans, amenities, and approvals.

Residences

Kitchens and bathrooms come with 2 design concepts to choose from; the first with a white countertop, lighter wood finish, and a blue porcelain shower wall tile. The second with a dark countertop, darker wood finish, and white porcelain shower wall tile.

All condos will include the following:

• split A/Cs
• Bosch appliances
• Quartz countertops
• Kohler plumbing fixtures
• 8.5 ft ceilings - floor-to-ceiling windows
• luxury vinyl plank flooring
• porcelain shower tiles

Some units will have private lanais and views of Diamond Head.

The unit mix is shown below:

Floor plans

The tower includes 12 floor plans while the mid-rise has 5. Click here to see all the floor plans, the specs for each plan, and where each unit is located.

Pricing

• 603 affordable housing units will range from $370,600 to $813,300. One-bedrooms range from $370,600 to $557,800, two-bedrooms range from $521,800 to $732,300, and three-bedrooms range from $695,00 to $813,300.
• 402 market-priced units will range from $685,500 to $1,225,000. One-bedrooms range from $685,500 - $780,000, two-bedrooms range from $893,500 - $1,099,000, three-bedrooms range from $989,000 - $1,250,000, and Live/Work lofts range from $1,222,000 - $1,225,000. Market-price condos and will be offered first to Owner Occupants for 30 days. After 30 days, the remaining inventory will be available for sale to everyone.

Lottery

There will be a lottery for both market-priced units and affordable housing units.

For those interested in purchasing one of the affordable condo units at Kuilei Place, you must:

• be a taxpaying Hawaii resident
• qualify according to HHFDC's 201H Affordable Housing Program, with the exception redefining "first-time home ownership." A "first-time homebuyer" is defined as a resident who has not owned any unit anywhere for a period of one-year prior to the date of application for a lower cost housing unit."
• attend a HHFDC affordable housing seminar
• apply to their lottery

Lotteries generally entail submitting an application, getting a letter of pre-approval, and signing an affidavit affirming that you'll reside in the unit. Lottery selection will be announced at a later time. If you get selected, you'll have the chance to select your preferred unit.

The income requirements are shown below. For families larger than 4, refer to Honolulu County's table here. Subject to change.

More about the project

While this approved development received a lot of attention because of its location and affordability, don't forget it's a mixed-use real estate development. Not only will there be 2 towers with 1,005 condo residences, but there will also be over 7,000 sqft of commercial space, a separate parking structure (for both cars and bikes), and ample green space to enhance biodiversity.

Kuilei Place was designed with sustainability in mind.

• Centralized solar hot water system
• All LED lighting
• Greywater treatment and reuse onsite
• Use of lower carbon footprint concrete CarbonCure

Amenities

Preliminary plans include the following amenities:

• a pool on the 1st floor
• 2 dining rooms on the top floors
• 2 playgrounds
• a dog park
• multiple fitness stations and picnic pavilions
• a putting green
• a BBQ area

Where will it be built?

Kuilei Place will replace roughly 20 low-rise rental apartment buildings between Date Street and Kapiolani Blvd. You can see the exact location in the map below. The entrance of the building will be on Kapiolani Blvd. Currently, there are no sidewalks in the area, but new sidewalks will be built to make it more pedestrian-friendly.

When will it be built?

If approvals go as planned, construction will start at Q4 of 2023. Sales would start before that. Completion would likely happen in the middle of 2026.