Walker Estate still seeks buyer at $12.9M

Answer: Developer TR Partners LLC's offer to buy the historic Nuuanu estate expired, and the landowner continues to look for a prospective buyer, according to a recent letter by Gov. Linda Lingle.

TR Partners originally had planned to purchase and raze the 100-year-old estate listed as the H. Alexander Walker Residence on the National Register of Historic Places.

TR Partners, made up of Greg Clark and Tom Enomoto, wanted to build new homes from scratch, saying it would be too costly to maintain the historic estate. After public outcry, TR Partners withdrew its plans to purchase and demolish the property.

The 5.7-acre estate, which is also on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places, was built by German immigrant George Rodiek in 1904 in the Classical Revival architectural style.

Holy-Eye LLC, an affiliate of a Taiwanese Buddhist organization, bought the Walker estate in 1998 for $5 million with the intention of offering its members a retreat home.

Now Holy-Eye plans to sell the estate so it can focus on building a temple in Taiwan.

Chaney Brooks American Homes has listed the estate at $12.9 million for more than a year.

In September, Peter Young, chairman of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, said the state has the option of condemning the property, but doesn't have the money to do so.

Lingle, in a Dec. 19 letter to the Daughters of Hawaii, which opposed the sale and demolition, said her administration "supports preservation of this important historic site.

"We are hopeful that any future purchaser will recognize the historic value of the property, and assure its existence as a reminder of a bygone era in Hawaii's unique history," Lingle wrote.