Mō‘ili‘ili · Honolulu
One thousand five residences on three acres at 2599 Kapi‘olani Boulevard — a 43-story tower and a 12-story mid-rise, developed by Kobayashi Group and BlackSand Capital, with 603 homes set aside as state-qualified affordable housing.
Kui lei — to string a lei; to join separate things into one.
Under Construction — Inquire for AvailabilityKuilei Place is the largest for-sale affordable housing project under construction on O‘ahu, and it is the first major new condominium in Mō‘ili‘ili in decades. That combination is what makes it unusual. Most of the island’s new high-rise inventory sits in Kaka‘ako and Ala Moana and is priced accordingly. This one sits east of all of it, in a working town neighborhood between Kaimūkī High School and ‘Iolani School, and roughly sixty percent of it was reserved for local buyers under state income limits.
The structure of the project is the story. Of 1,005 residences, 603 were designated affordable under the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation’s 201H program, targeted at households earning roughly 80 to 140 percent of area median income — the band that catches teachers, nurses, and first responders who earn too much for most subsidy programs and not enough for a Kaka‘ako tower. The remaining 402 are market-priced.
Kobayashi Group is behind it, in partnership with BlackSand Capital. That is the same developer associated with Park Lane, Hokua and Alia — which is worth noting because the affordable designation here is a regulatory structure, not a statement about build quality.
The project cleared its 201H approval in 2022, sold heavily through 2023 and 2024, and broke ground in April 2025 with the Governor, the Mayor and HHFDC leadership in attendance. It is now vertical.
People tour Kuilei Place assuming the only difference between the two categories is price. It is not. An affordable residence here comes with income qualification going in and restrictions on how you sell going out, and those restrictions run for years. Understanding which one you are buying is the single most important thing on this page.
| Affordable (201H) | Market | |
|---|---|---|
| Residences | 603 | 402 |
| Income limits | Yes — 80–140% AMI | None |
| First-time buyer rule | Applies | None |
| Owner-occupancy required | Yes | Confirm terms |
| HHFDC buy-back right | Applies for a set period | None |
| Shared Appreciation Equity | Applies | None |
| Resale buyer must qualify | Yes, during restriction period | No |
| Purchased via | Application and lottery | Application and lottery |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
The project splits vertically. The mid-rise occupies floors 2 through 12; the high-rise runs from 13 to 43. Where your home sits determines your view, your outdoor space, and in practice which floor plans are even available to you.
A small number of ground-floor loft residences are designed to let an owner run a business downstairs and live above it. There are very few of them, and they tend to attract a specific buyer — if that is you, say so early, because they do not come back around often.
Floor plans, square footages, finish schedules, unit mix by floor and maintenance fee estimates are established by the developer and are subject to change until stated in the Developer’s Public Report and your executed purchase contract. Ask us for the current plan set for any residence you are considering.
For a project delivering this much affordable housing, the amenity program is closer to a market-rate building than to anything the 201H label might suggest. Most of it sits on the ground level, with a pair of private dining rooms placed at the top of the tower.
Amenity programming and building systems are drawn from the developer’s published plans and remain subject to change through construction. The sustainability measures matter beyond the environmental case — they were designed in part to hold maintenance fees down over time, which is worth confirming against the current budget in the project documents.
Kuilei Place fronts Kapi‘olani Boulevard near the Date Street intersection, in the middle of Mō‘ili‘ili. This is town living without a Kaka‘ako address: older apartment stock, long-standing local businesses, and a location that puts most of urban Honolulu within a short drive.
The affordable side of this project runs on state program rules rather than ordinary real estate practice, and the paperwork is unforgiving about deadlines. These are the points that matter most.
We will tell you which category you are eligible for, pull current availability and pricing, walk you through the HHFDC income limits and the buy-back and Shared Appreciation Equity terms, and give you a straight comparison against other options in town. Please connect with us before your first visit to the sales gallery.
New to buying in Hawai‘i? Start with our Home Buying Guide →
Kuilei Place is developed by Kobayashi Group in partnership with BlackSand Capital; Hawaii Starts Here and its agents are not the developer and do not represent the developer. All real estate licensees employed by or associated with the developer’s sales gallery represent the developer. Illustrations and renderings are conceptual and may differ from actual improvements when constructed. Residence counts, unit mix, home types, floor plans, square footages, parking allocations, amenity descriptions, building systems, design elements, maintenance fee estimates and completion timelines are approximate, are drawn from developer announcements, public agency materials and published project materials, and are subject to change; the developer reserves the right to modify plans, square footages, specifications, features, materials, options, colors, finishes and landscaping at any time without notice or obligation. Pricing is established by the developer, varies by residence, and is subject to change without notice; affordable pricing is additionally tied to income tiers established by the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation and is revised periodically. Estimated completion dates are projections and are not guaranteed; your remedies if completion does not occur by the outside date are governed by your sales agreement. Affordable residences are offered under HHFDC’s 201H program and are subject to eligibility and household income requirements, owner-occupancy obligations, a notarized affidavit carrying civil and criminal penalties, HHFDC Use, Sale and Transfer Restrictions including buy-back rights, and Shared Appreciation Equity provisions; all program terms are established by HHFDC and the applicable program documents, are subject to change, and must be confirmed directly with the agency and reviewed with your own attorney before you sign. Eligibility for any state equity assistance or down payment program is determined solely by the administering agency and is subject to funding availability. Unit descriptions, common and limited common elements, association budgets, maintenance fee estimates, use and transfer restrictions, leasing and rental provisions, and the developer’s reserved rights are governed by the Developer’s Public Report for the project, which has not been prepared or issued by the Hawai‘i Real Estate Commission; the issuance of an effective date does not constitute approval of the project. Maintenance fees are developer estimates, are difficult to estimate initially, and tend to increase over time. Cancellation rights, arbitration election rights, deposit handling, financing terms and contingency terms are established by the sales agreement and applicable law and are subject to change — review all documents with your own legal advisor. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice. Nothing on this page is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy where prohibited by law. See the developer’s official sales materials and the Developer’s Public Report for complete and current details.