Stanford Carr
pays $50M for
Big Island properties

Local developer Stanford Carr has paid $50 million for three separate Big Island parcels slated for residential development.

Last month, Carr paid Japan-based Yanase USA $17 million for 400 acres of residential land near Kona where he will build a 1,500-unit planned community called Kaloko Heights.

That deal came within a month of Carr's purchase of 30 acres in the Mauna Lani area from local developer Bill Mills for $13 million and his $24 million acquisition of 150 acres from Mauna Lani's Japan-based owner Tokyu Corp.

According to Carr, Kaloko Heights will include a cross-section of affordable and moderately priced homes, with prices beginning at $200,000.

Carr -- who hopes to break ground by the middle of the year -- said the complex also will include a five-acre commercial project.

The Mauna Lani parcels, which are yet to be named, will include 220 high-end homes with prices ranging between $500,000 and $1 million.

Carr estimated that the three projects will create several hundred construction jobs.

Reg Lawson, a Realtor with Clark Realty in Kona, said Carr's projects are well-timed. With median single-family Big Island home prices hitting a record $350,000 last year, Lawson said he expects the projects to be extremely successful.

"They've done their homework," Lawson said.