Molokai Ranch plans to have at least nine holes of the Kaluakoi Golf Course open for play in four months and is moving ahead to sell fee-simple home lots around the course. Molokai Ranch preps
golf course to reopenStar-Bulletin staff
The ranch, which bought the 4,100-acre property at the west end of the island late last year, is also looking at options for the 140-room Kaluakoi Hotel, which was closed in late 2000.
"We didn't buy the property to leave it the way it is," Peter Nicholas, president and chief executive officer of Molokai Ranch Ltd., said today. The company is considering options for the hotel and expects a decision within six months, he said.
"Either it becomes a hotel, or maybe timeshare or condos," he said. Whatever the decision is, it will be a first-class luxury property, he said.
The golf course was abandoned more than 18 months ago by then-owner Kukui (Molokai) Inc., a division of Japan-based Tokyo Kosan Ltd.
Work on the irrigation system began in June and has now been completed. The foot-high grass and rubbish that marred a scenic spot is gone and parts of the course are already being watered, Nicholas said.
Designed by Ted Robinson, the par-72 course was opened in 1977 with six holes on the ocean. Nicholas said condominium owners in the area have expressed a lot of interest in playing on the course.
Molokai Ranch will offer 42 house lots for sale, mostly on the hills surrounding Kaluakoi with two five-acre lots on the oceanfront.
Molokai Ranch Ltd. owns 65,000 acres on Molokai, including a 22-room luxury lodge operated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and a 40-room tent complex at a beach.
The company is a subsidiary of BIL International Ltd., formerly Brierley Investments, which is listed on the London, Singapore and New Zealand stock exchanges.