The 2023 Maui fires and pushback on the use of emergency orders derailed the governor’s early plan to address the state’s housing crisis. But he says he hasn’t given up on the issue.

Gov. Josh Green has a big vision for Iwilei, the working-class neighborhood bordering Honolulu’s Chinatown along the rail line.

It would cost an estimated $667 million in state taxpayer money for a massive infrastructure upgrade, Green says. The trade-off: 27,500 new homes and upward of $5 billion in investment into an area Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has targeted for redevelopment.

Green said he’ll include a request for some Iwilei infrastructure money in his housing package for the upcoming session.

“This is already being formulated in the housing plan,” he said.

The Iwilei effort reflects Green’

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