KILAUEA — The creative force behind hit TV shows like “ER,” “The West Wing” and “Shameless” parted ways with 237 acres of North Shore property this week.
A sprawling ranch owned by corporate entities managed by prolific director, show runner and producer John Wells sold for $22.5 million this Monday.
“Very happy to have sold this to the new owners,” said Neal Norman, the Hawai’i Life Realtor Broker who listed the property. “I hope they take great care of it. The property came as a fully-equipped ranch.”
Norman reported that the property — the former home of the Silver Falls Ranch — came with riding arenas, stables, eight horses, a main residence and a guest house.
Silver Falls operated for 27 years before shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s our intention to keep the Silver Falls ranch just as pristine as it is — it is quite beautiful and it’s been well maintained by the previous owner,” said real estate agent Roni Marley, who represented the buyers in the sale.
She reported that the new owners were open-minded about the possibility of reopening the Silver Falls Ranch to the public.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to bring Silver Falls back into the community. We’re missing land activities on the North Shore,” said Marley. “It would provide more jobs and revamp our tourism industry now that it’s opening back up.”
Tax records show that the three parcels of land that comprise the ranch were purchased by LLCs linked to Wells for a combined cost of $15,800,000 in 2016 — so despite an annual property tax of $69,377 in 2021, the show runner appears to have raked in a profit on the deal.
Wells has a significant real estate portfolio on the island, with his name on several additional properties in Kilauea and Hanalei.
The just-sold property is made up of three parcels located at the foot of Mount Namahana, the largest of which is 137.69 acres and includes the 3,509 sq. ft. primary residence with four bedrooms and three and a half baths.
It also features the 1,080 sq. ft. guest house with two bedrooms and one bathroom, and the Silver Falls equestrian buildings.
The second parcel is 92.18 acres of undeveloped land, zoned for a single-family residence, and the third is 7.92 acres also zoned for a residence, which has largely been used as a grazing area for horses.
The ranch was initially listed for $40.5 million in 2020 alongside two other parcels of vacant land in a 372-acre package, according to Norman.
The combined land did not sell and was taken off the market after several months. The smaller package was listed in October 2021 at $23.5 million.
Entities managed by Wells still hold ownership of the other two parcels of land, which Norman said might be put up for sale again.
Wells, a Virginia native, served as a writer on the TV show “China Beach” before establishing himself as the executive producer on the NBC medical drama “ER” in 1994.
In 2003, he came on as the show runner for the political drama “The West Wing,” which he saw through until its finale in 2006. He also developed the NBC series “Southland,” served as the show runner, and director of Showtime’s “Shameless,” and produced the series Animal Kingdom for TNT.
Wells also directed films “August Osage County,” “The Company Men,” and “Burnt.”
In 2019, he signed a nine-figure deal with Warner Bros. through 2024, according to Forbes Magazine.
