HONOLULU — A Utah company that bought two undeveloped parcels at Turtle Bay Resort in April for hotel and residential use plans to begin developing an initial housing phase by the end of the year.
Arete Collective recently hosted an “open house” in Kahuku to share its plan with community members and gather feedback on what its chief executive described as an eight- to 10-year project slated to begin later this year with 20 homes in four buildings between the beach and the 18th hole of the resort’s Arnold Palmer Golf Course.
The 20 homes are among 100 approved for development on a 43-acre site under a 2014 agreement with the state that protected much of the Turtle Bay property on Oahu’s North Shore from being developed.
Two hotels with a combined 625 units also are allowed as part of the deal that protected 666 acres at the 1,180-acre resort from development, including 70 acres fronting Kawela Bay and about 600 acres largely occupied by two golf courses where 650 homes could have been built under city approvals received in 1986.
The 1986 development plan to expand the resort was largely supported by the community at the time because it would have created additional jobs to ones created when the hotel originally known as Kuilima opened in 1972, a year after Kahuku’s sugar plantation closed.
However, many community members objected to a rekindled effort 20 years ago to proceed with the expansion, and some still have concerns about the scaled-back plan, especially with everyday traffic jams around Haleiwa plaguing the community.
“The traffic conditions have worsened,” said Margaret Primacio, a Kahuku resident and member of the Defend Oahu Coalition, an organization that aims to “Keep the Country, Country.”
Primacio said she also has concerns about potential negative impacts on nearshore wildlife, public beach access and other things. “They just need to hold off,” she said.
Becky Buchan, co-founder and CEO of Arete, said during the community presentation, held Aug. 29 in the cafeteria of Kahuku High School, that her company is committed to making traffic improvements and protecting shoreline access, along with natural and cultural resources in the area, as part of its development work that would create 1,000 construction jobs and 500 long-term jobs.
Buchan said most of the homes will be developed 350 feet mauka of the shoreline, compared with a minimum 150-foot requirement, and that 70% of the site will remain open space after all 100 homes are developed, which is projected for early 2027.
The homes, according to Buchan, will come with short-term and long-term rental prohibitions, and will be marketed to buyers who she estimated would spend 30% to 40% of the year at Turtle Bay.
Buchan also said that work will be done to improve sand dunes on the property, and that the company intends to build at least twice as much affordable housing as required, or at least 50 homes instead of 25.
Some of the company’s commitments, such as traffic mitigation, increased public parking, a public park contribution and building a child care center for employees, are requirements under a city unilateral agreement tied to development approvals.
Arete also is working on a plan to reopen and operate the George Fazio Golf Course at Turtle Bay, and has been managing the Palmer course since Aug. 1 under a 99-year land lease with Host Hotels & Resorts Inc.
Host, a giant global hotel owner and operator, bought the two golf courses and the existing 450-room hotel in August, rebranding the property as The Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay.
Host also agreed to buy a 49-acre undeveloped parcel approved for one of the two additional hotels as part of its $725 million acquisition announced in May with the seller, real estate investment firm Blackstone Group. Blackstone bought the Turtle Bay property in 2018 for $333 million and later made extensive renovations.
Arete paid $43 million for its two parts of the resort property acquired from Blackstone.
Salt Lake City-based Arete is mostly involved in high-end residential and private club development in five other states and Mexico.
Joey Buchan, who co-founded the company with his wife, said during the community presentation that company officials understand Hawaiian culture and want to earn the community’s trust.
“I would ask that as we go forward here that everybody has an open heart,” he said. “An open heart is an open mind.”
Joey Buchan also noted that his family has been visiting Hawaii and Oahu’s North Shore for many years. “There is nothing like the North Shore,” he said. “We love this place and we love the people who are here.”
Primacio, who attended the meeting, said the presentation wasn’t ideal from her point of view because community members couldn’t speak publicly. Instead, Arete had team members available to talk one-on-one as well as comment cards and an online survey.
Kaaawa resident Alan Poe, vice president of the Defend Oahu Coalition, called Arete’s presentation a “dog and pony show” professing deep connections to Hawaii and Hawaiian culture that were made after the company received grading permits for the housing project.
“They’re pushing along with the project,” he said. “We want a little bit of transparency, and we’re scrambling to get information.”
