Land used for sugar
on Big Isle up for grabsThe property in Pahala
will be available in a lottery
for $7,000 an acre
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii >> A Hilo company is offering about 800 acres of land that belonged to the Big Island's last sugar plantation to the public in a lottery on Saturday, with first crack going to people who may have once worked the land.
The lottery for the former C. Brewer property in Pahala is a nonbinding reservation system that will allow purchasers to buy the land in parcels of five acres to 20 acres for $7,000 an acre. Hawaiian Island Homes says the lottery will give first choice to Pahala residents who may have once worked the land for Ka'u Agribusiness.
"They will be followed by those who live in Ka'u, then the Big Island, then the rest of the state and finally, all comers," said Dana G. Kenny of Hawaiian Island Homes, the company brokering the deal for C. Brewer. "It's just a way so the people who are most impacted by the sale will have the greatest chance to purchase something for themselves."
Hawaiian Island Homes, which has a contract with C. Brewer to purchase the property, will go to the county for necessary approvals once the reservation system is complete.
Hawaii County Planning Director Chris Yuen said although the county has agreed in principle to the plans, he has a number of concerns about the proposal.
"There is a group of 40 or 50 people who have developed 10- and 20-acre farms who could not purchase in any other way," Yuen said.
However, Yuen said the county is frowning on wholesale subdivision of all the lands around Pahala, which could lead to potentially expensive scattered residential patterns.
"The county administration would not support rezoning the bulk of the area," Yuen said.
The offering is part of C. Brewer and Co.'s land liquidation announced in January 2002.
Another lottery that took place last weekend in Pahala was only open to town residents, and at an undisclosed discounted cost.
The initial closed reservation event is meant to help revitalize the town of 1,378 residents that was severely affected by the closure of Ka'u Sugar Co. in 1996, Kenny said.
"When a plantation closes the town that it supports becomes stagnant," said Kenny. "You're talking about a community with no economy but a hospital, police station and fire house. The kids are leaving and the retirees are dying off."
Pahala residents may never again see an opportunity to purchase the land at below market value. "We think it's unfortunate that every time a plantation has been sold the local people have not been given the first opportunity to purchase the land that they have worked on," Kenny said. "It gives us a good feeling that there is a positive outcome in this case."
An association will be set up to make decisions on roads and water development and the establishment of support services at the old Pahala Mill site, Kenny said.
