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Paniolo Country
rated ideal for
the ultra-rich
A magazine for affluent folks
By Rod Thompson
adds old cow town of
Waimea to its list
Star-BulletinWAIMEA, Hawaii -- Luxury, prestige, affluence, Waimea.
Yes, Waimea, the former cow town in the northern part of the Big Island, still headquarters for the huge Parker Ranch, is suddenly being associated with some of the most upscale words the English language can generate.
The Robb Report, which describes itself as "the magazine of the luxury lifestyle," has announced its Third Annual Top Affluent Communities, and Waimea, once the home of "Rawhide Ben" Low and 1908 Wyoming rodeo winner Ikua Purdy, is on the list.
"No, we are not an affluent community," answers Waimea real estate broker Dodie MacArthur.
The top 10 U.S. places for the affluent to reside, according to the Robb Report, are: IN THE MONEY
1. Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
2. Greenwich, Conn.
3. Palm Beach, Fla.
4. Aspen, Colo.
5. Upper West Side Manhattan, New York City
6. Pacific Heights, San Francisco
7. The Grosse Pointes, Mich. (Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, and the city of Grosse Pointe)
8. Park City, Utah
9. Highland Park and University Park, Dallas, Texas
10. Waimea, Big Island of Hawaii
But the Robb Report interviewed MacArthur before making its decision, and she agrees with it.
"We are a community that's attractive to people who can afford to live anywhere," she said.
Dan Phillips, president of Massachusetts-based Luxury Media Corp., which publishes Robb Report, said Waimea is rich in tradition and history. It also has a harbor down the hill at Kawaihae where people can moor their yachts and a little-used airport on the edge of town to land their private jets.
If Waimea isn't rich, rich people still feel comfortable there, says Parker Ranch Realty broker Leslie Agorastos. "People who are very, very affluent don't feel like they're coming to Slobovia."
Often they buy a brand new multimillion dollar home down on the South Kohala Coast, then discover they rarely see their neighbors who, like themselves, only live there a few months of the year, Agorastos said. "They want a real house in a real neighborhood," she said.
Then they discover Waimea.
If you're rich, the homes in Waimea are embarrassingly cheap. The median is $234,750, compared to $3.25 million in Palm Beach, Fla., also on the Robb Report list.
"A lot of people would pay more (in Waimea) if they could find more luxury property," Agorastos said.
There are currently 62 houses for sale in the community of 6,000, with prices ranging from $187,000 to $975,000, she said.
Waimea also has culture.
Former Parker Ranch owner Richard Smart, once an actor, built the Kahilu Theater before his death.
"Every community should have a wealthy, aging actor so they can have a first-class performing arts theater," Agorastos said.
It also has private schools, the Smart-endowed Parker School and Hawaii Preparatory Academy, which features another theater, the Gates Performing Arts Center.
It has science. The Keck and Canada-France-Hawaii telescopes have their headquarters there, and Canada-France astronomers give talks at the Gates center.
It has the private, non-profit North Hawaii Community Hospital. It even has organic vegetable farms, says gift shop owner Patti Cook.
One hitch: "Higher crime rate than expected," the Robb Report says.
Statistics from 1998 show the town has 5 percent of the island's population but 9 percent of its burglaries and larcenies.
Waimea police Capt. Harry Kubojiri answers that community policing, and officer Mark Haggerty in particular, solve an extraordinary 86 percent of cases.
Beyond the common-sense act of locking doors, businesswoman Cook isn't worried. "I feel safe here," she said.
"We still live in a pretty safe community."
