When Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole began serving as a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1903, the Hawaiian nation was in peril. Queen Liliʻuokalani had been deposed, the population was declining, the Hawaiian language and culture were fading, and Hawaiian land was being seized and controlled by foreigners.
Often called Ke Aliʻi Makaʻāinana (The People’s Prince), Kūhiō was beloved for his efforts to support and empower the Hawaiian people. He believed that with land, Hawaiians could achieve economic self-sufficiency, preserve their culture, and ultimately rebuild the lāhui. To that end, he championed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA), which Congress passed and President Warren Harding signed into law in 1921.
The HHCA set aside some 200,000 acres throughout Hawaiʻi where individuals with at least 50% Hawaiian blood could live, farm and ranch. It guaranteed that those lands would be held in trust for their and their heirs’ use in perpetuity, and the annual fee for 99-year leases would be just $1. When Hawaiʻi became a state in 1959, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) was established to administer these trust lands.
Patti Tancayo’s great-grandfather received a Hawaiian Home Lands lease for a 40-acre homestead in Hoʻolehua, Molokaʻi, in the early 1930s. When he died in 1969, her father inherited it. She considers it a blessing to have grown up there, so she could experience firsthand how a house is more than shelter; it is the foundation for familial, cultural and economic stability.
“The Hawaiian values I learned being raised on the homestead weren’t just taught, they were lived,” Tancayo said. “When I visited my cousin’s house, he didn’t just let me play with his toys, he gave me his best ones. When guests stayed with us, my parents offered their bedroom to them. Giving from the heart without hesitation was our way of life.”
Tancayo also recalled the many large gatherings at her ʻohana’s homestead weren’t only about good food. Family and friends hunted, fished and cooked for those parties side by side. It was laulima, many hands working as one. “That sense of togetherness – of knowing you were part of something greater than yourself – made it special,” she said. “No one was just an observer; we all contributed.”
Aloha, laulima and ʻohana, she asserts, lie at the heart of the HHCA. “Prince Kūhiō knew it was not just about land; it was about restoring Hawaiian traditions, strengthening family ties and ensuring future generations always have a place to call home,” Tancayo said. “The homesteads were where Hawaiian values – among them, respect, generosity and aloha ʻāina – could endure.”
Inspired by the legacy of Prince Kūhiō and her happy, close-knit upbringing, Tancayo founded Kalanianaʻole Development in 2023 to create innovative, culturally rooted, financially attainable housing solutions for Hawaiian families, especially those with the most need.
The company’s philosophy is based on the HHCA’s core principles: self-determination, economic development, cultural preservation and homesteading. As president and chief executive officer, Tancayo makes certain those concepts guide Kalanianaʻole Development’s approach to every project.
She has more than 35 years of experience in affordable housing development. Her team of experts in construction, finance, law and large-scale development includes board chairman Nan Chul Shin, founder of Nan, Inc., Hawaiʻi’s largest locally owned and operated construction firm. In 2023, Shin acquired Grace Pacific, one of the state’s largest asphalt paving contractors.
“We are actively pursuing DHHL commercial, industrial, infrastructure and residential contracts, all of which are critical to building vibrant Hawaiian communities,” Tancayo said. “I bring a unique perspective to the table because I grew up on a Hawaiian Home Lands homestead. Like thousands of other Hawaiians, I have waited years to obtain one myself, and I understand the challenges and frustrations that come with that process.”
This is why she is leading several transformative housing projects, including work at the Villages of Laʻiʻōpua, a 980-acre master-planned community in Kealakehe, on Hawaiʻi Island’s west side.
DHHL has been developing five villages on 572 of those acres; the first, Village 3, was completed in 2000. Villages 4, ʻĀkau (Phase 1) and 5 are partially completed. Kalanianaʻole Development was awarded the contract for a water system, infrastructure, and turn-key and rent-to-own houses for 400 lots in Villages 1 and 2, which will start coming to fruition in 2027. It will also be constructing 125 homes in Village 4, Hema (Phase 2); completion of that is targeted for 2027.
In addition, the company is developing affordable housing at Pālamanui, a 725-acre master-planned, mixed-use community in nearby Kailua-Kona. Anticipated to be completed in 2026, that project will include 132 single-family, multi-family and kūpuna homes thanks to an 18-acre land donation that Shin made to DHHL.
Tancayo is also collaborating with the King Lunalilo Trust (lunalilo.org) and the Kalamaʻula Homesteaders Association (kalamaula.com) on Molokaʻi to develop the state’s first homestead-driven kūpuna housing project. Kalanianaʻole Development recently received DHHL approval to conduct a feasibility study for it; financing is expected to be finalized in 2026.
Beyond housing, community spaces are key aspects of all of Kalanianaʻole Development’s projects. “These are gathering places where Hawaiian traditions, values and teachings can be perpetuated, where knowledge can be passed down to the next generation,” Tancayo said. “In this way, our culture is lived, celebrated and preserved.”
Every March 26, Hawaiʻi observes Prince Kūhiō Day as a state holiday honoring the visionary aliʻi who saw land as the Hawaiians’ salvation.
“To us, land is not just property,” Tancayo said. “It connects us to our ancestors, our culture and our identity. Without land and safe, secure housing, it’s difficult for us to maintain traditions, be on solid ground financially, remain rooted in our communities and thrive, not just survive.
“Kalanianaʻole Development is committed to strengthening the lāhui and upholding Hawaiian values. Our work is about building more than housing; it’s about building our future.”
