Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Awards Record Number of Leases in July

Governor Green and DHHL employees smile at the Pana‘ewa Lease Awards.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) offered more than 1,000 project leases in July for multiple homestead communities on Hawai‘i Island and O‘ahu.

On July 11, 2026, 200 residential project leases were awarded for a new homestead in East Hawai‘i – Pana‘ewa – for the first time in more than two decades. Development is slated for 2030.

A week later, the DHHL offered 824 project leases for three homestead communities on O‘ahu that included Waimānalo, ‘Ewa and Nānākuli. Awards in the department’s long-standing homesteads – Waimānalo and Nānākuli – have not been made since 2016 and 1996, respectively. Furthermore, O‘ahu is set to welcome a new homestead in the years ahead in ‘Ewa. Acquired by the DHHL in 2021, the former 80-acre site of NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center will be developed into an additional homesteading option.

Over the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act’s 105-year history, the department awarded roughly 10,000 leases.

In what marks a transformative administration and pivotal moment for housing Native Hawaiian families, the DHHL is set to award a record number of leases in 2026 – nearly 3,000 across the pae ‘āina.

To date, the department has offered leases for the following projects:

Kaua‘i

• Courtyards at Waipouli: 82 residential project leases

Hawai‘i Island

• Honomū Phase 2: 50 agricultural project leases
• Lai ‘Ōpua Village 3 Akau: 118 residential project leases
• La‘i ‘Ōpua Village 4 Hema: 25 residential lots
• La‘i ‘Ōpua Village 5: 55 residential lots
• Kailapa/Kawaihae: 21 residential project leases
• Pana‘ewa: 200 residential project leases

Maui

• Honokōwai: 40 agricultural project lease awards
• Pūlehunui: 200 agricultural project lease awards

O‘ahu

• Waimānalo: 400 residential project leases
• ‘Ewa: 400 residential project leases
• Nānākuli: 24 residential project leases

To close the year, the department will award an additional 200 residential project leases in Pana‘ewa, 1,100 residential project leases for a new community in Līhu‘e, Kaua‘i, 36 subsistence agriculture and residential leases on Moloka‘i, more than 730 residential project leases in West Hawai‘i — and 24 scattered lots in West O‘ahu.