emiller@westhawaiitoday.com
BY ERIN MILLER | WEST HAWAII TODAY
South Kona property that Hokulia developer Lyle Anderson tried to convert into a golf course before being rebuffed by the Sierra Club and others is up for sale.
The lands, which sold for $26 million in 1990, have sat untouched for more than a decade.
Roughly 660 acres, known as the Keopuka Lands, between the Captain Cook Monument and Hokulia, go up for sale today, via a closed bid auction, said Philip Ramirez, managing director for M18, a public relations firm representing seller Racebrook Marketing Concepts and auction affiliate Sheldon Good & Co.
Pacific Star, in Scottsdale, Ariz., is still the property owner. No contact information for the company could be located Tuesday.
Anderson proposed turning the land into an 18-hole golf course, 125 1- to 5-acre house lots and a private lodge more than a decade ago. Anderson was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
The Sierra Club and Big Island resident David Kimo Frankel asked the state’s Land Use Commission to require a boundary amendment for the project, which was on state land but looked like urban development, according to LUC records.
The LUC concurred.
“Assessing the development as a whole, we are convinced that the project is not permitted on agricultural land and can only proceed as envisioned in the (draft environmental impact statement) only if there is a boundary amendment reclassifying the land from agricultural to urban as approved by this commission,” the LUC’s 2000 order said. “Developer would have us examine each component of the project, e.g., the single-family residences, the golf course, the large-sized mauka lots, and conclude that because each component as a stand alone development might be permitted, the entire development would also be permitted. We decline to adopt this narrow analytic thesis.”
Third Circuit Court Judge Ronald Ibarra in 2001 upheld that decision.
Auction materials describe the property as “boasting unrivaled natural beauty, Keopuka is a compelling opportunity for a developer, investor or private buyer.”
The 185 acres fronting the ocean are under a conservation easement. The property runs from sea level to 1,300 feet in elevation.
Sealed bids must be delivered to Racebrook by March 22. More information about the property and the auction is available at keopukahawaiiauction.com.
emiller@westhawaiitoday.com