image courtesy draft environmental assessment

(BIVN) – An affordable rental complex is being proposed for a 4.6-acre area next to Waikoloa Village.

K00674 Waikoloa, LP has published a draft environmental assessment for the 60-unit Kaiaulu O Waikoloa project. The document, which will need the approval of the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation, anticipates a finding of no significant impact. 

Environmental Risk Analysis LLC is doing the consulting work on the assessment, which reads:

K00674 Waikoloa, LP. is proposing to develop an affordable rental complex of 60 units, consisting of 28 two-bedroom units, an estimated 25 three-bedroom units, and an estimated 7 four-bedroom units in Waikoloa. The development will include a community center and at least 75 parking stalls. The objective of this project is to produce an affordable rental development, while utilizing the least amount of State of Hawai’i resources. These apartments will target low income households earning less than 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the County of Hawaiʻi. These units will address the dire need for affordable rentals for the households in this income bracket, many of whom are at risk of becoming homeless due to the severe housing shortage.

image courtesy draft environmental assessment

According to the draft document, construction on the project is estimated to begin by November 2019. Completion is anticipated in the first quarter of 2021, the EA states.

“The total budget for these improvement activities is estimated at $30 million. The anticipated primary financing will be provided by Hunt Capital Partners. HHFDC will be providing Tax Exempt Bonds, tax credits and the State’s Rental Housing Revolving Funds,” the document reads.

Best management practices will be implemented during construction in order to mitigate potential impacts to soil, air quality, noise and traffic.

The project is also located in the Waikoloa Maneuver Area, which carries the potential hazard of unexploded ordnance, or UXO. On that matter, the document states:

Potential impacts from previous site use by the military are possible, however the property was a provided a Conditional No Further Action with Institutional Controls (NFA w/ICs) designation. The Conditional NFA w/ICs stipulates the property must be accompanied by an ongoing safety awareness program, all future subsurface activities must be conducted following the Areawide Environmental Hazard Management Plan, Waikoloa Maneuver Area, Island of Hawaii (2019), all subsurface activities must be conducted with UXO Construction Support, and for large scale developments, a Site-Specific Environmental Hazard Management Plan must be submitted to and approved by HDOH prior to construction. Implementing the ICs would reduce the risk to negligible.