A&B hikes stake in Kauai resort development

A&B hikes stake in Kauai resort development
- 2004-09-01 - Pacific Business News (Honolulu

A&B hikes stake in Kauai resort development
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is increasing its equity investment and ownership in the Kukuiula project, a 1,000-acre master-planned residential resort community on Kauai that was re-entitled in July.


A&B currently anticipates investing between $50 and $75 million in Kukuiula over the next three to four years, after which the project's capital needs are expected to be funded by cash flows from property sales, the company said Tuesday.

Kukuiula is on Kauai's southern coast between Poipu and the Lawai Valley. The project is zoned for the development of up to 1,500 units, an 18-hole golf course and commercial uses. The plan includes donation of a 20-acre park and bayfront land for recreational use, employee housing, hike and bike trails, and money for roads.

Development is planned to take 10 to 15 years with infrastructure construction beginning next year. In April 2002, A&B, which owned the 1,000 acres, entered into a joint venture with DMB, a Scottsdale, Ariz., developer of resort communities, for the joint development of the project.

"DMB usually teams with landowners who contribute only the land to the venture," A&B President Allen Doane said, "but, because of our confidence in both the project and our partner, and with Hawaii's resort residential market expected to continue to perform strongly, A&B elected to increase its equity participation and ownership interest in the project."