Kuilei Place is the largest for-sale affordable housing project under construction on O‘ahu and the first major new condominium in Mō‘ili‘ili in decades. Kui lei — to string a lei, to join separate things into one — is an apt name for a project that brings 1,005 residences to a working town neighborhood between Kaimūkī High School and ‘Iolani School, with roughly sixty percent of them reserved for local buyers under state income limits.
- 1,005 residences: 603 affordable (HHFDC 201H), 402 market
- 43-story tower and 12-story mid-rise at 2599 Kapi‘olani Boulevard
- 1 to 3 bedrooms plus live/work lofts; fee simple
- Under construction; groundbreaking April 2025
Two Buildings, Two Categories
Developed by Kobayashi Group with BlackSand Capital — the team associated with Park Lane, Hokua, One Ala Moana, and Capitol Place — Kuilei Place rises on three acres at 2599 Kapi‘olani Boulevard as a 43-story tower and a 12-story mid-rise. Of its 1,005 homes, 603 were designated affordable under HHFDC's 201H program for households earning roughly 80 to 140 percent of area median income — the band that catches teachers, nurses, and first responders. The remaining 402 are market-priced. The affordable designation is a regulatory structure, not a statement about build quality.
The Residences
The mid-rise on floors 2 through 12 offers one- and two-bedroom homes, generally the more attainable entry point. The high-rise from floors 13 to 43 adds three-bedroom residences with Diamond Head, ocean, and Ko‘olau views depending on orientation. Finishes include floor-to-ceiling windows, Bosch appliances and Kohler fixtures, quartz counters, porcelain tile, and a choice of two color palettes. A small number of ground-floor live/work lofts let an owner run a business downstairs and live above.
An Amenity Program Beyond the Label
Five private club rooms, two indoor fitness centers plus an outdoor fitness lawn, a resort-style pool with lap lanes, reservable barbecue cabanas, two playgrounds, two dog parks, bike and surfboard storage, and two penthouse-level private dining rooms with a karaoke lounge. Sustainability systems — centralized solar hot water, greywater reuse, Level 3 EV fast charging, and EV car and micromobility sharing — were designed in part to hold maintenance fees down over time.
Affordable and Market Are Different Purchases
An affordable residence carries income qualification going in and HHFDC use, sale, and transfer restrictions going out — including a buy-back right and Shared Appreciation Equity provisions that run for years. For most buyers in this income band it remains far and away the best path to owning in town, but it must be understood before you apply. The project cleared 201H approval in 2022, sold heavily through 2023 and 2024, broke ground in April 2025, and is now vertical. Remaining developer inventory is limited and changes as contracts cancel and release.
Tell Hawaii Starts Here your household size and we will send you the HHFDC income limits in force today, confirm which category you are eligible for, and pull current availability — before your first visit to the sales gallery.
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