1,000-home Hawaii subdivision planned

A California partnership is moving ahead with plans to develop a nearly 1,000-home subdivision in south-central Maui despite opposition from the County Department of Planning and some nearby residents.

Ma'alaea Properties LLC recently filed a draft environmental impact statement for its estimated $400 million project called Ma'alaea Mauka proposed for 257 acres of former sugar-cane fields south of Wailuku.

The project envisions 949 residential units in a mix of single-family homes, multifamily units, senior housing and rental apartments plus a 15-acre park and 37 acres of open space.

Though the land is classified as "prime" agricultural land by the state and zoned for agricultural use by the county, the Kihei-Makena Community Plan designated the property for residential growth in 1998.

The developer said the project would provide needed housing — including an estimated 380 affordable units under county guidelines — in a market where low supply and strong demand have pushed prices sky-high.

"In light of the current and projected housing market conditions and prices, the proposed Ma'alaea Mauka subdivision is considered to provide a significant community benefit by offering residents new opportunities to secure affordable and market-priced housing products," Ma'alaea Properties said in its environmental statement.

But the Ma'alaea Community Association has objected to the project primarily over concerns that it will add to near-gridlock rush-hour traffic on Honoapi'ilani Highway and increase use of Ma'alaea's shoreline and community park.

"Ma'alaea Mauka, with 960 units, could more than double the population of this small community," the group said in a letter to the developer last year.

The Maui County Planning Department, in a May 2006 letter, also expressed opposition shared by then-Mayor Alan Arakawa.

The department said it was "strongly opposed" to the project and would recommend that the Maui Planning Commission and County Council deny approvals for the project.

The department's letter cited concerns over impact on infrastructure, including schools, and said it was reconsidering the Kihei-Makena Community Plan residential designation for the Ma'alaea Mauka site as part of updating its General Plan guiding Maui development.

Since the department's objection last year, a new mayor and planning chief have taken office, and neither Mayor Charmaine Tavares nor Planning Director Jeff Hunt could be reached for comment yesterday.

Steve Kikuchi, a Ma'alaea Properties partner, said it isn't fair for the county to hold up a project possibly for several years while it revises its long-range growth plan.

"It would be ridiculous to wait four or five years (for the county to update its general plan)," he said, adding that decisions should be made on existing growth plans for Maui.

Regulatory approvals from the state Land Use Commission and County Council are projected to take three years, and if obtained would allow Ma'alaea Properties to begin construction in 2011. Kikuchi said building out the subdivision would likely take another five to six years.

HOUSING SHORTAGE

The developer cited a 2003 Hawaii Housing Policy Study commissioned by the state that projected a 4,183-unit housing supply deficit by 2010 on Maui based on production and population trends.

Maui has some of Hawai'i's highest housing prices, in part because much of the island's housing inventory is resort condominiums and other property bought for vacation-home use.

The median price of Maui condos this year through November was $550,000, compared with $325,000 on O'ahu. The median single-family home price on Maui was $625,500 vs. $645,000 on O'ahu during the same period.

Kikuchi said it isn't possible to fairly estimate home prices for Ma'alaea Mauka given the uncertainty of future construction costs and general home prices.

Historically, the Ma'alaea Mauka site has been used for farming. For close to 100 years until 1988, it supported sugar-cane production, and later was planted in pineapple and diversified crops. Since 2004, the site has supported only cattle grazing under a lease to Maui Cattle Co.

In 1998, the County Council approved the site for future residential growth in the Kihei-Makena Community Plan in part based on the landowner's desire and a 1992 recommendation by a community advisory committee. The Planning Department at the time sought to keep the area in agriculture, while the Planning Commission recommended the area be classified as a reserve for future growth.

Ma'alaea Properties bought the Ma'alaea Mauka site in August 2004 for $6.6 million from C. Brewer & Co. affiliate Wailuku Agribusiness Co. Inc. The developer submitted a petition to the Land Use Commission last year to reclassify the property from agricultural to urban use.

Kikuchi, a landscape architect and land planner, leads the development team, which also involves California home builders Mike Atherton and Bill Filios of Atherton Homes and Larry Anderson of Anderson Homes. The two home builders have developed more than 5,000 homes over more than 20 years in California.

LAND FOR SCHOOLS

In Hawai'i, the partnership has acquired more than 2,000 acres of land in the last several years, including 905 acres in Waikapu, Maui, leased to Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. for sugar production and 710 acres in Waikapu on which the owners intend to plant 200 acres of coffee.

Ma'alaea Properties also owns the 50-acre Maui Tropical Plantation and the 500-acre Moloka'i coffee farm Coffees of Hawai'i Inc.

The developer in its environmental statement said the Ma'alaea Mauka site is rated prime agricultural land, but represents only 0.1 percent of the 246,000 acres of agricultural land on Maui.

Under the Kihei-Makena Community Plan, the site was deemed big enough for 1,150 single-family homes.

Ma'alaea Properties said it has proposed a relative low-density project that will be gateless and designed to preserve the natural landscape with hillside terracing and a broad landscaped buffer along the highway.

The project also will contain its own water and sewer systems, with three on-site wells and a wastewater treatment plant on 95 acres nearby.

The developer also said it is discussing options to contribute land to the county for a new intermediate school as well as fire and police facilities.

In the environmental statement, the developer estimated the project would generate $2.4 million in annual revenue to the county but cost the county $2.8 million a year in expenses.

The net cost to the state would be $1.3 million per year after buildout, offset partly by a net revenue gain of $15.8 million during development.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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Hawaii foreclosures rank 44th in country

awaii had 113 foreclosure filings in November, an increase of 53 percent over the 74 filings in November 2006.

Hawaii ranks 44th in the country for its foreclosure rate of one filing for every 4,346 households, a slight improvement over October's ranking of 43rd, according to the latest survey by California-based real estate research firm RealtyTrac.

Nevada has the highest rate of foreclosures, with 6,694 filings, or one for every 152 households, in November. Vermont has the lowest rate, with 6 filings, which equates to one filing per every 51,224 households.

The national foreclosure rate was down 10 percent from October, and up 68 percent from November 2006. There were 201,950 filings at a rate of one for every 617 households nationwide.

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source: bizjournals.com

Partners to acquire Honolulu Club building

Local businessman Richard Gushman and a California real estate investment trust have agreed to acquire the Honolulu Club fitness center and its namesake building across from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on Ward Avenue.

Gushman has partnered with Douglas Emmett Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., to buy the building for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

The sale includes the Honolulu Club, an upscale fitness center catering to business clientele and managed by the Wellbridge Co. of Denver, which operates 20 clubs with more than 75,000 members and 1,600 employees nationwide.

The fee-simple building was formerly home to the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant, whose lease expired this year.

City records show the seller is Gold Stone Investment Inc., which bought the property in 1999 for $15 million.

"Gushman and Douglas Emmett intend to maintain the high standards that have been established as Oahu's premier health club," the buyers said in a statement.

They plan to make some capital improvements on the property but no other changes to operations or the number of employees at the Honolulu Club.

Douglas Emmett also owns 1132 Bishop St., a 25-story downtown office building, as well as the 31-story Harbor Court across from Aloha Tower. The company also owns the 696-unit Moanalua Hillside Apartments and the Villas at Royal Kunia, a 402-unit apartment complex in Waipahu.



Local businessman Richard Gushman and a California real estate investment trust have agreed to acquire the Honolulu Club fitness center and its namesake building across from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on Ward Avenue.

Gushman has partnered with Douglas Emmett Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., to buy the building for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

The sale includes the Honolulu Club, an upscale fitness center catering to business clientele and managed by the Wellbridge Co. of Denver, which operates 20 clubs with more than 75,000 members and 1,600 employees nationwide.

The fee-simple building was formerly home to the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant, whose lease expired this year.

City records show the seller is Gold Stone Investment Inc., which bought the property in 1999 for $15 million.

"Gushman and Douglas Emmett intend to maintain the high standards that have been established as Oahu's premier health club," the buyers said in a statement.

They plan to make some capital improvements on the property but no other changes to operations or the number of employees at the Honolulu Club.

Douglas Emmett also owns 1132 Bishop St., a 25-story downtown office building, as well as the 31-story Harbor Court across from Aloha Tower. The company also owns the 696-unit Moanalua Hillside Apartments and the Villas at Royal Kunia, a 402-unit apartment complex in Waipahu.

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: starbulletin.com

Partners to acquire Honolulu Club building

Local businessman Richard Gushman and a California real estate investment trust have agreed to acquire the Honolulu Club fitness center and its namesake building across from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on Ward Avenue.

Gushman has partnered with Douglas Emmett Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., to buy the building for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

The sale includes the Honolulu Club, an upscale fitness center catering to business clientele and managed by the Wellbridge Co. of Denver, which operates 20 clubs with more than 75,000 members and 1,600 employees nationwide.

The fee-simple building was formerly home to the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant, whose lease expired this year.

City records show the seller is Gold Stone Investment Inc., which bought the property in 1999 for $15 million.

"Gushman and Douglas Emmett intend to maintain the high standards that have been established as Oahu's premier health club," the buyers said in a statement.

They plan to make some capital improvements on the property but no other changes to operations or the number of employees at the Honolulu Club.

Douglas Emmett also owns 1132 Bishop St., a 25-story downtown office building, as well as the 31-story Harbor Court across from Aloha Tower. The company also owns the 696-unit Moanalua Hillside Apartments and the Villas at Royal Kunia, a 402-unit apartment complex in Waipahu.



Local businessman Richard Gushman and a California real estate investment trust have agreed to acquire the Honolulu Club fitness center and its namesake building across from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on Ward Avenue.

Gushman has partnered with Douglas Emmett Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., to buy the building for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

The sale includes the Honolulu Club, an upscale fitness center catering to business clientele and managed by the Wellbridge Co. of Denver, which operates 20 clubs with more than 75,000 members and 1,600 employees nationwide.

The fee-simple building was formerly home to the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant, whose lease expired this year.

City records show the seller is Gold Stone Investment Inc., which bought the property in 1999 for $15 million.

"Gushman and Douglas Emmett intend to maintain the high standards that have been established as Oahu's premier health club," the buyers said in a statement.

They plan to make some capital improvements on the property but no other changes to operations or the number of employees at the Honolulu Club.

Douglas Emmett also owns 1132 Bishop St., a 25-story downtown office building, as well as the 31-story Harbor Court across from Aloha Tower. The company also owns the 696-unit Moanalua Hillside Apartments and the Villas at Royal Kunia, a 402-unit apartment complex in Waipahu.


source: starbulletin.com

Molokai Ranch will cut costs 15% after land board decision

MAUNALOA, Molokai — The developers of a proposed luxury subdivision on La'au Point expect to have another environmental impact study ready before the year ends, said John Sabas, Molokai Properties Ltd.'s general manager for community affairs.

But Molokai Ranch - MPL's subsidiary - has told employees in its resort and cattle operations it will need to reduce labor costs by 10 percent and operational overhead by 5 percent, according to a letter to employees by Chief Operating Officer Roy Sugiyama.

The letter says that the cutbacks are a direct result of the failure to win state Land Use Commission approval of the ranch's final environmental impact statement. When it became clear during a hearing held on Moloka'i last month that the commission would not accept the EIS, Molokai Properties asked to withdraw the document, saying it would address concerns raised by the LUC staff and by the Moloka'i community.

Acceptance of the impact statement would be a first step toward Land Use Commission review of Molokai Properties' proposed "Community-Based Master Land Use Plan for Molokai Ranch." As part of the plan, MPL is asking to reclassify 613 acres to rural use on the West Molokai slopes overlooking La'au Point on the island's southwest corner. The plan includes development of 200 lots ranging in size from 1.5 acres to 2 acres for multimillion-dollar homes.

For Moloka'i Hawaiians objecting to the plan, La'au is considered a sacred area with significant cultural sites and important resources for the traditional Native Hawaiian subsistence lifestyle.

Sugiyama said managers would be making recommendations for cutbacks in the coming weeks.

"While we believe there were a number of procedural errors surrounding the hearing, and we know we could have answered many of the claims that the document didn't meet commission criteria, we thought it best to withdraw it and resubmit it at a later date," Sugiyama wrote.

ACCUSATIONS FLY

Walter Ritte Jr., a Native Hawaiian cultural rights advocate and organizer of the Save Laau movement, said they weren't surprised by the letter.

"We felt that they're at the bottom of the barrel, and this is the kind of things you do at the bottom of the barrel," Ritte said Monday. "Making the employees pay for their decisions and mistakes is a pretty bad idea. It's so obvious what they're doing. They are trying to put the blame on all of us who have exposed their bad plans. They are attempting to get people to blame us for cutbacks or losing their jobs."

Sabas denied that the cutbacks are an attempt by the company to bully people into supporting the master plan. MPL is a subsidiary of Singapore-based BIL International Ltd., which is in turn owned by the Hong Kong-based Guoco Group.

Sugiyama wrote that MPL lost $4.5 million in the past year. If there are further delays in adoption of the master plan, he said that the company will be forced to sell land as well as close the Kaluakoi Golf Course and Kaupoa Camp, a resort project operated by the ranch.

MPL's working cattle ranch, golf course and resorts employ about 140 people today, Sabas said.

"We have got a business to run," Sabas said Monday. "If we've been losing money all these years and continue to lose money every month, we need to make some business decisions, and that's exactly what we've been doing.

"We've been working for years to ensure the sustainable future of the ranch. I don't think it is a scare tactic. I think it is just one of those realities of doing business."

PLAN WITHDRAWN

The master plan was completed in late 2005 after two years and nearly 150 public meetings in conjunction with the Molokai Enterprise Community. The final environmental impact statement was presented to the commission for approval in October. During the hearing Nov. 15 and 16, MPL retreated when commissioners Reuben Wong and Duane Kanuha moved to reject the 3,000-page document.

The commissioners said they considered the EIS inadequate on water treatment, water transmission, segmentation of residential lots, electricity issues and potential environmental hazards to Hawaiian monk seals.

A Land Use Commission staff report supported the commissioners' positions.

"We really didn't think that there was anything wrong with the past EIS," Sabas said.

He said MPL contractors have been working on revisions since the hearing's conclusion. He said he expected the final document to be completed by the end of December.

The Land Use Commission hearings drew hundreds of Moloka'i residents, many of whom spoke passionately against the plan and detailed what they said were its flaws.

Ranch owners and their supporters argue that the plan will preserve Moloka'i's rural character and important cultural areas. The proponents say the plan is a worthy tradeoff, since uncontrolled development already is happening.

If the plan is implemented, in exchange for allowing development of La'au, two community organizations will be granted management control over 51,000 acres of Molokai Ranch property protected forever as conservation or agricultural lands.

More than half of the 51,000 acres would be designated a land trust to protect historic and cultural sites, with the remainder under conservation easements allowing current agricultural uses, but barring development.

The plan guarantees that Native Hawaiians will continue to have traditional fishing, gathering and access rights.

When the EIS failed, Ritte and other Save Laau leaders said they'd hoped MPL would return to the bargaining table. Plan opponents want a compromise that does not include development at La'au. "Instead, they are trying to waste more money, money that they apparently don't have," Ritte said.




MAUNALOA, Molokai — The developers of a proposed luxury subdivision on La'au Point expect to have another environmental impact study ready before the year ends, said John Sabas, Molokai Properties Ltd.'s general manager for community affairs.

But Molokai Ranch - MPL's subsidiary - has told employees in its resort and cattle operations it will need to reduce labor costs by 10 percent and operational overhead by 5 percent, according to a letter to employees by Chief Operating Officer Roy Sugiyama.

The letter says that the cutbacks are a direct result of the failure to win state Land Use Commission approval of the ranch's final environmental impact statement. When it became clear during a hearing held on Moloka'i last month that the commission would not accept the EIS, Molokai Properties asked to withdraw the document, saying it would address concerns raised by the LUC staff and by the Moloka'i community.

Acceptance of the impact statement would be a first step toward Land Use Commission review of Molokai Properties' proposed "Community-Based Master Land Use Plan for Molokai Ranch." As part of the plan, MPL is asking to reclassify 613 acres to rural use on the West Molokai slopes overlooking La'au Point on the island's southwest corner. The plan includes development of 200 lots ranging in size from 1.5 acres to 2 acres for multimillion-dollar homes.

For Moloka'i Hawaiians objecting to the plan, La'au is considered a sacred area with significant cultural sites and important resources for the traditional Native Hawaiian subsistence lifestyle.

Sugiyama said managers would be making recommendations for cutbacks in the coming weeks.

"While we believe there were a number of procedural errors surrounding the hearing, and we know we could have answered many of the claims that the document didn't meet commission criteria, we thought it best to withdraw it and resubmit it at a later date," Sugiyama wrote.

ACCUSATIONS FLY

Walter Ritte Jr., a Native Hawaiian cultural rights advocate and organizer of the Save Laau movement, said they weren't surprised by the letter.

"We felt that they're at the bottom of the barrel, and this is the kind of things you do at the bottom of the barrel," Ritte said Monday. "Making the employees pay for their decisions and mistakes is a pretty bad idea. It's so obvious what they're doing. They are trying to put the blame on all of us who have exposed their bad plans. They are attempting to get people to blame us for cutbacks or losing their jobs."

Sabas denied that the cutbacks are an attempt by the company to bully people into supporting the master plan. MPL is a subsidiary of Singapore-based BIL International Ltd., which is in turn owned by the Hong Kong-based Guoco Group.

Sugiyama wrote that MPL lost $4.5 million in the past year. If there are further delays in adoption of the master plan, he said that the company will be forced to sell land as well as close the Kaluakoi Golf Course and Kaupoa Camp, a resort project operated by the ranch.

MPL's working cattle ranch, golf course and resorts employ about 140 people today, Sabas said.

"We have got a business to run," Sabas said Monday. "If we've been losing money all these years and continue to lose money every month, we need to make some business decisions, and that's exactly what we've been doing.

"We've been working for years to ensure the sustainable future of the ranch. I don't think it is a scare tactic. I think it is just one of those realities of doing business."

PLAN WITHDRAWN

The master plan was completed in late 2005 after two years and nearly 150 public meetings in conjunction with the Molokai Enterprise Community. The final environmental impact statement was presented to the commission for approval in October. During the hearing Nov. 15 and 16, MPL retreated when commissioners Reuben Wong and Duane Kanuha moved to reject the 3,000-page document.

The commissioners said they considered the EIS inadequate on water treatment, water transmission, segmentation of residential lots, electricity issues and potential environmental hazards to Hawaiian monk seals.

A Land Use Commission staff report supported the commissioners' positions.

"We really didn't think that there was anything wrong with the past EIS," Sabas said.

He said MPL contractors have been working on revisions since the hearing's conclusion. He said he expected the final document to be completed by the end of December.

The Land Use Commission hearings drew hundreds of Moloka'i residents, many of whom spoke passionately against the plan and detailed what they said were its flaws.

Ranch owners and their supporters argue that the plan will preserve Moloka'i's rural character and important cultural areas. The proponents say the plan is a worthy tradeoff, since uncontrolled development already is happening.

If the plan is implemented, in exchange for allowing development of La'au, two community organizations will be granted management control over 51,000 acres of Molokai Ranch property protected forever as conservation or agricultural lands.

More than half of the 51,000 acres would be designated a land trust to protect historic and cultural sites, with the remainder under conservation easements allowing current agricultural uses, but barring development.

The plan guarantees that Native Hawaiians will continue to have traditional fishing, gathering and access rights.

When the EIS failed, Ritte and other Save Laau leaders said they'd hoped MPL would return to the bargaining table. Plan opponents want a compromise that does not include development at La'au. "Instead, they are trying to waste more money, money that they apparently don't have," Ritte said.

source: honoluluadvertiser.com