One more time extension will get a long-stalled Hualalai Road condo project off the ground.
That’s according to Kukui Development LCC, the California-based company that bought the troubled Hale Nanea Condominiums in 2013 after previous developers failed over a dozen years to bring the 92-unit project to fruition.
Kukui Development is seeking a five-year time extension to complete the condominiums on 6.3 vacant acres, located about 1,000 feet mauka of the intersection with Kuakini Highway, on the south side. The company would like to be turning over dirt in September or October, and complete the work within three years, said George Baker, a manager for Kukui Development.
“We’re permit-ready,” Baker said. “We’d like to get the project moving along. It’s a prime area to be developed.”
The project has been beset by challenges. Kukui Development has had some of its own, according to a letter the developer sent in May to Planning Director Duane Kanuha.
“As a result of the damage done to the housing industry by the financial market collapse of recent years, our efforts have been met with unforeseen head winds and challenging hurdles which have led to unprecedented delays,” the developer wrote.
The time extension was a condition of the construction loan by the lender, according to the letter.
The Leeward Planning Commission will consider the time extension request at its meeting in Kailua-Kona on Aug. 20.
The project will feature a series of two- and three-bedroom condos set in four-unit and eight-unit configurations. The two-story buildings will be served by a pool and spa, pavilion area and landscaping that incorporates the Kuakini Wall and archaeological features. The living area of the units will range from 1,160 to 1,339 square feet.
The dwellings will be priced in the upper $300,000 range to the lower $400,000 range, Baker said.
The company must widen and improve Hualalai Road where it abuts the property, adding sidewalks, gutters and other safety features.
“There are some transient folks living on the property,” Baker said. “There have been two fires on the property due to transients. It is a safety issue; we do need to get something started in there.”
The company and its partners have developed multiple projects on several of the Hawaiian Islands over 12 years, Baker said. Kukui developed and sold the final 64 units of Seascape Condominiums in Palisades from 2011 to 2014.
Versions of Hale Nanea go back at least to a 2001 final plan approval. A 2005 zoning change converted the land from resort and hotel and agricultural zoning to multi-family residential. The Hawaii County Planning Department granted a five-year time extension for the project in October 2012.
An early version of the plan called for 80 units housed in four-story buildings on 2.4 acres.