MEDIA RELEASE

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The County of Hawai‘i closed escrow today on the purchase of a 151-acre oceanfront property in North Kohala known as Kaiholena North.

The property, consisting of three separate parcels, includes a water well on undeveloped ranchland and several small coral beaches along 3,000 feet of ocean frontage. The mauka borders of all three parcels front Akoni Pule Highway.

Ken Van Bergen, Property Manager for the County of Hawai‘i, said the County purchased the property for less than the $7.5 million asking price. ”We ended up offering $6,541,680 which was three percent less than the $6,744,000 appraisal price” Van Bergen said.

The property also is rich with cultural and historic significance. It was ranked No. 3 on the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation (PONC) priority list last year when negotiations began on the purchase. The property is being purchased with the County’s PONC fund, which is set aside for the acquisition of properties on the priority list.

“We are committed to acquiring these kinds of properties to ensure that our future generations and their families have the ability to enjoy our beautiful island coastlines,” said County of Hawai‘i Mayor Billy Kenoi. “I want to thank our County finance staff, especially Property Manager Ken Van Bergen, for their diligent work to make these often complicated transactions work for the benefit of our County residents.

Part of the 3,000-foot shoreline at Kaiholena North.

“This is a beautiful and significant property that will be another jewel in the County’s treasure chest of open space lands,” Mayor Kenoi said.

The Kaiholena property was identified in the 2008 North Kohala Community Development Plan as an important area for protection. Traditional activities such as subsistence fishing and shoreline gathering will continue on the property.

“One of the biggest challenges in acquiring open space property from the priority list is finding a willing seller,” Van Bergen said. “No matter how high on the list a property may be, if the owner is not interested in selling there is not much we can do. In this case we were fortunate to have a willing seller and pleased they accepted our offer.”

Charles Anderson, principal broker for Hawai‘i Pacific Brokers LLC, represented the seller, Pōhaku Kea LLC, a California-based investment company, in the transaction that closed escrow today. “We’ve been working for years with community leaders,” Anderson said. “We’re glad that the County is purchasing this land and that it will be protected for the community.”

Anderson is donating $10,000 from proceeds of the sale to the North Kohala Community Resource Center, which provides local support and funding for projects that benefit North Kohala.

The three purchased parcels are part a six-parcel subdivision. The county is actively working to acquire the additional three parcels dubbed Kaiholena South. However with today’s closing, the County acquired all the ocean frontage for all the properties due to the unusual configuration of one of the acquired parcels (see map below).

The County is pursuing several other North Kohala Properties on this year’s priority list, including Pa‘o‘o, which is ranked No. 2. Pao`o has already been selected to receive $945,000 in matching funds from the Land Conservation Commission (LLCC).

Another property being pursued by the County is a privately owned 19-acre parcel that is surrounded on three sides by Lapakahi State Park. Lapakahi is ranked No. 3 on the PONC priority list.