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Molokai’s
Kaluakoi Resort sale
accord reached

The deal could close as early
as Nov. 9 and all 111 employers
will need to reapply
for their jobs

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By Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin

A 4,100-acre Molokai resort that spans a hotel and a golf course and employs 111 people will be sold by its Japan-based owners, according to a document filed today with the state.

Kukui (Molokai) Inc. and Kukui Resort Inc. said they have agreed to sell the Kaluakoi Resort, which includes a large acreage of undeveloped land in western Molokai. The sale could close as early as Nov. 9, according to today's filing with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Buddy Reed Jr., an executive officer of the companies selling the property, declined comment about the sale today and would not identify the buyer.

All 111 employees will be terminated by the current owners, according to the filing. The new owner of the hotel and golf course will hold interviews with the employees to decide whom to rehire. The filing did not specify how many workers the new owners might hire.

The Kaluakoi Resort's work force comprises nearly 4 percent of all civilian employees on Molokai, according to August figures from the Labor Department. Molokai has an unemployment rate of 18.2 percent, the highest in the state.

The new owners would have to take comply with a consent order that the current owners recently reached with the state over alleged drinking water and waste water violations, Reed said.

Kukui has agreed to pay a total of more than $600,000 in penalties over the alleged violations, $230,000 of which has already been paid, according to Deputy Attorney General Laurence Lau. The rest is due in installments over the next couple years. Kukui also has agreed to improve the property. Kukui (Molokai) is a subsidiary of Tokyo Kosan Ltd.