Groundbreaking held on Maui Fairways property for medical professional housing : Maui Now

Maui Health Foundation held a groundbreaking and blessing ceremony on Feb. 12 for construction of 16 homes on the Maui Lani Fairways property to help healthcare providers impacted by the wildfires and to recruit desperately needed healthcare professionals to work on Maui.

“Today marks a key milestone to support one of our most vital resources – healthcare professionals. Investing in the people that help save our lives will be a benefit to our entire community,” said Mayor Richard Bissen to groundbreaking attendees. 

Through a land donation from the County of Maui to Maui Health Foundation, the foundation will build the homes and own them in perpetuity. The homes are located minutes away from Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku. Construction is estimated to be completed within 12 to 14 months. Once built, the homes will provide transitional rentals while healthcare providers search for or rebuild homes.

“This project is a $10 million investment in the health of our community, and thanks to the incredible support of community members, we have raised nearly half of the funds needed for the construction of these homes,” said Maui Health Foundation Board President Tamar Goodfellow. “These homes will allow us to meet the needs of our Maui Health professionals who are rebuilding their lives after losing their homes in the 2023 wildfires, recruit essential healthcare providers, and partner with the University of Hawaiʻi Medical School to ‘grow our own.’”

Maui developer Everett Dowling was credited with inspiring the project. Because housing has been a major barrier to attracting needed healthcare professionals to the island, Dowling suggested to former Mayor Michael Victorino that Maui County could offer 16 unused lots located near Maui Memorial to Maui Health Foundation to create transitional housing for healthcare professionals. Victorino and Director of Housing and Human Concerns Lori Tsuhako put together a team from different county departments to research and present the project to Maui County Council, which approved the donation of the lots to Maui Health Foundation.

Maui Health Foundation closed on these lots in October 2023 and selected Lehua Builders as its development partner.

“Owner Sandy Duvauchelle offered us pre-registered home designs from a project she is currently building on Maui and worked with the county to expedite the building permits,” said Maui Health Foundation Chief Philanthropy Officer Melinda Sweany. “She then asked her subcontractors to match the pricing from her original project, saving the foundation on supply costs.”

“This is just the next step in an incredible journey of collaboration,” Goodfellow said. “We look forward to blessing these new homes in a few months in preparation for getting some of our fire-impacted healthcare providers back into stable housing until their own homes are rebuilt.”