Waipouli housing project signs leases for Native Hawaiian families

Nearly 30 of 70 leases had already been completed at the Courtyards of Waipouli, giving Native Hawaiian families a concrete path into housing at a time when long waitlists and tight island supply still block many from conventional ownership.

Mark Development Inc. said it had finished the paperwork for nearly 30 leases as it hosted its third open house and lease-signing session Sunday, May 31. The project, bought by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for $44 million in October, is being offered through what the company described as a first-of-its-kind rent-to-own optional lease arrangement.

The Waipouli complex includes 82 units in 10 two-story buildings on nearly six acres. The unit mix is 20 one-bedroom units, 42 two-bedroom units and 20 three-bedroom units, a range that could serve both single applicants and larger families. The project’s practical value now depends less on the sale itself than on how quickly eligible lessees can move from signing to renovation and then into their homes.

Craig Watase, chief executive of Mark Development, said renovation work was scheduled to begin soon. Lease documents tell lessees when they can expect to move in after work is completed on their units, turning the lease process into a direct bridge between eligibility and occupancy rather than a waiting game that can stretch for years. Watase also said that if something happened to a lessee before move-in, the lease could pass to a successor, a safeguard that gives families more certainty as they plan for the future.

For Roland Mahuiki, the process carried unusual weight. He came to the open house looking for a one-bedroom unit after waiting about 30 years for DHHL-related housing opportunities. DHHL staffer Irna Kamibayashi said he was next in line for lease discussions, putting him near the front of a process that has been out of reach for many families on Kauai.

DHHL Director Kali Watson described the arrangement as critical for people who need an alternative route to home ownership. At Waipouli, that route is no longer theoretical: leases are being signed, a renovation schedule is in place, and one of Kauai’s newer housing efforts is starting to show how Native Hawaiian families may actually move from eligibility to a key in hand.