Moanalua Gardens dealing with private buyer

Moanalua Gardens will likely remain a park open to the public if negotiations with a potential buyer or the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are successful, according to OHA and Damon Estate officials.

The estate is negotiating with a "private individual" who has made an offer for the 26-acre property, said Timothy Johns, chief operating officer for Damon Estate.

"At this point the individual has indicated that he is interested in maintaining the gardens and the Damon legacy of maintaining the gardens," Johns said.

Johns did not identify the potential buyer.

Last month, the estate rejected an offer by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to buy the property. Today, the board is scheduled to discuss whether to put in a backup offer.

Johns said the estate has been negotiating with OHA for the last year.

The OHA board authorized its staff to offer up to $5 million for the land in May, OHA Administrator Clyde Namu'o said.

Namu'o said the agency is interested in preserving the gardens and cultural sites on the property.

King Kamehameha V, also known as Prince Lot, owned a summer cottage on the property before it was given to Samuel Mills Damon, the founder of First Hawaiian Bank, by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

It is also the site of the annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, which would likely continue if OHA were to buy the property, Namu'o said.

The land is zoned preservation and cannot be developed without a zoning change. Johns said the assessed value is $5.6 million.

The potential buyer has 60 days to complete due diligence on the sale.

Namu'o said the recommendation of OHA staff is to delay putting in a backup offer and hopefully see what the buyer finds during the due-diligence period.

The estate and OHA disagree over some of the conditions of the sale involving liability and environmental concerns, Namu'o and Johns said.

Another consideration for the board, should it proceed with the sale, is the annual maintenance costs to keep up the gardens, estimated at about $600,000 a year, Namu'o said.

After Samuel Mills Damon's last grandchild died in 2004, the Damon Estate has been selling off its assets and distributing the proceeds to the remaining beneficiaries.

Damon's will provided that Moanalua Gardens be kept open to the public and maintained by the estate.

But the trust's obligation to maintain the gardens ends when the estate is dissolved, Johns said.