About Kihei

Kihei

Elevation: 10 - 30 feet

Current Real Estate Stats

Kihei´s near-constant sunshine and the fringe of sandy beaches -- some of the loveliest on the island -- along its six-mile-long stretch on Maui´s southwest coast continues to attract avid sun- and sand-worshippers. The beaches have incredible views of Lanai and Kahoolawe as well as West Maui. At sunset, the orange orb of the sun seems to hang for a long time over the water before sliding gently into the sea. The breezes off the ocean during the late afternoon and early twilight hours bring a cooling, welcome relief from the heat of the day.

If you want to be strictly accurate, the original "Kihei" was a single village located near the Kihei Wharf, across from Suda Store. The next villages over were Kalepolepo and Kama´ole, which are now names for beaches along the South Kihei Road.

The area that we call Kihei now (bounded to the north by Maalaea Bay and to the south by the Wailea resort) was once a long stretch of undeveloped beaches with an abundance of scrubby plants and thorny kiawe (mesquite) trees and panini cacti. Along this stretch there was a scattering of homes, a few small stores and a couple of churches. Local families often camped overnight at the many beaches and fishermen had their favorite spots up and down the coast. The living was slow and easy, and land was not worth much money since, after all, you couldn´t grow much produce here. There just wasn´t enough rain.

In the 1960s and 1970s Maui was economically depressed. The young people were leaving the island to find their fortunes elsewhere and population was dwindling. Tourism seemed to be the answer, and tourists liked beaches. Kihei had lots and lots of beautiful beaches.

Part of the problem was that the tracts of land in Kihei was independently owned and there was no one general management system to control the rampant development that resulted. Private developers constructed high-rise condominiums along the shoreline. Wealthy folks began building million-dollar homes. Interspersed between the condos and the fancy houses were subdivision tracts -- some well-planned and others not -- for ordinary folks as well as strip malls and shopping centers. Every developer had his own vision and the result was a mishmash of dreams.

While it can be said that each developer did pretty much as he pleased, and the result is sometimes less than aesthetically pleasing, there are also a number of comfortable condominium complexes as well as houses that are well-designed and very attractive scattered throughout the area.

The newer Piilani Highway (Highway 31), above South Kihei Road and running parallel to it, was constructed to help alleviate the constant traffic congestion along South Kihei Road. Crossroads connect the two, and the building continues along this other thoroughfare as well.