A parcel of undeveloped state land in Lahaina will temporarily be used for a 450-unit state group housing site for Aug. 8 fire survivors not eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a 169-unit federal group housing site for those who are eligible.

Mayor Richard Bissen announced FEMA’s decision on the location Wednesday evening at the weekly Lahaina Fire Recovery Update meeting.

For decades, the 1,128-acre property near the Lahaina Civic Center that will contain both temporary housing sites has been slated as a residential development called Villages of Leialii. The master plan had called for up to 4,000 homes, including Department of Hawaiian Home Land homesteads, but it has stalled for various reasons.

The Leialii site was chosen over two other options, including a site known as Kaanapali 2020, for which the Army Corps of Engineers had prepared a design and draft Environmental Impact Statement. FEMA said in late January the group housing site was an “absolute last resort.”

The federal project of temporary modular units is called Kilohana, which means lookout point. It also has already been designed by the Corps, according to Col. Eric Swenson, who is now commanding the Corps’ Recovery Field Office on Maui.

The project on 36 acres will primarily be for individuals or single households.

The FEMA project led by the Corps will take 120 to 150 days to complete, although there may be the possibility of doing it in phases to allow some people to move in quicker, Swenson said.

The Corps already has led the construction of a new temporary school in West Maui, which recently was completed.

After the environmental process is completed, which Swenson expects will happen on March 24, the contract can be awarded. Negotiations are already underway with a contractor.

On a 72-acre section of the Leialii parcel, the state is heading a project called Kalaiola that will provide 450 units for fire survivors.

The name Kalaiola means a “place of peaceful recovery,” said Joe Campos, deputy director of the state Department of Human Services, which is spearheading the project.

An environmental assessment will be available for public review on Friday, with a seven-day comment period. Infrastructure will need to be built and some roads will be improved.

Phase 1 of the state project includes 270 units of studios and mix of multiple-bedroom homes that are expected to be ready for people to move into as early as July, Campos said.

When asked what the homes will cost, Campos said: “I can say pretty much at least the first year there will be no rent, but even if we do charge rent it will be extremely affordable, just to cover utilities.”

The 450 housing units will average about $118,000 for a total cost of about $56 million, according to the Department of Human Services.

The temporary housing will be available for three to five years. When it ends, the units may be available for people to purchase at reduced rates if they want to move them. Some units will go back to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for other projects.

The prefabricated units are being built by four manufacturers in order to get them quickly. Campos showed the designs, including one by NanoNest that had mostly glass exteriors.

“Don’t worry, they will have blinds for privacy,” Campos said.

The project will include community rooms, a place for post office boxes, kupuna gathering spaces, an area for children, a resiliency hub and other spaces for gathering.

Both temporary projects will be allowed to hook into county water and sewer, which will speed up the process.

A big goal is to get housing for some of the nearly 4,000 people still living in the expensive hotels on the west side. It will cost the state about $5 million per year to operate the group housing site. The state is paying roughly $1 million per day to house survivors in the hotels.

“Unfortunately we only have 450 units, but we hope to build more,” Campos said.

“The main goal is for people to have long-term housing. We hope that Kalaiola will be a place of peaceful recovery,” he said.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.