The County Planning Department recently gave final approval to build 90 condominium units on 20 lots on approximately 400 acres of fallow sugarcane land in Wailua. Construction on the condominiums could begin anytime, according to Ed MacDowell, principal broker of
The County Planning Department recently gave final approval to build 90 condominium units on 20 lots on approximately 400 acres of fallow sugarcane land in Wailua.
Construction on the condominiums could begin anytime, according to Ed MacDowell, principal broker of Vision Properties in Kapa‘a, which is listing the property.
The project between Ka‘apuni and Olohena and Houiki roads, called the “Kulana subdivision,” has been in the works for nearly five years, and, already, nearly all of the property has been promised to buyers.
“The project was originally listed two years ago when we started taking reservations,” MacDowell said. “We immediately had a lot of smart people in the Wailua and Kapa‘a areas come forward.”
Back then, asking price for the two-to-six-acre parcels on old Lihue Plantation land ranged from $166,000 to $650,000, with $10,000 down. Today, only 15 of the original 100 parcels are still available, and the asking price has gone up for the remaining parcels, from $350,000 to $600,000, with $10,000 down.
MacDowell figures nearly 60 percent of the buyers are from Kaua‘i.
“Well over half are Kaua‘i residents who are upgrading their homes, or selling their homes or what they have, to purchase a larger piece of property,” MacDowell said.
There are 10 miles of irrigation ditches on the project, and, according to MacDowell, all have been, or will be, rebuilt to their original state. Owners of the property will be able to use them for various purposes, so long as they are kept free flowing.
MacDowell said the project will ultimately boast some $15 million worth of improvements, including the irrigation ditches, a matrix of new roads, a 14-inch water main, a 250,000 gallon water tank, a community park and a six-acre reservoir.
The design of the community will be driven by a homeowner’s association, and their standards will be used as guidelines for the overall project, to give it continuity, MacDowell said.
“This will not be a gated community but a design-review committee within the homeowners association will guide it,” he said.
The owners of the project are Jim Lull, owner of U.S. Financial, and William “Bill” Hancock, a Kaua‘i-based certified public accountant.
Phil Hayworth, Business Editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) and mailto:phayworth@pulitzer.net
