Article from: The Maui News

WAILUKU – Opponents of the Grand Wailea’s planned $250 million expansion persuaded 2nd Circuit Judge Joel August to issue a temporary stop-work order Thursday on a project to build 22 new parking stalls at the Wailea end of South Kihei Road.

Wailuku attorney Isaac Hall sought and received a temporary restraining order to halt the nonprofit Wailea Community Association’s construction of the public parking stalls.

In his order issued at 2 p.m. Thursday, August said the allegations in Hall’s request for a temporary restraining order could, if substantiated, “provide a basis for finding a causal nexus between the current construction of the beach access parking stalls . . . and the (special management area) permitting process for the proposed expansion of the Grand Wailea Hotel.”

Immediately after the judge issued his order, the community group’s volunteers and its contractor, Sonny Vick’s Paving, stopped work that had begun Monday.

The parking is intended for Keawakapu Beach, and it was initiated by the community association and Maui County in 2003 after the association raised concerns about pedestrian safety.

But Hall successfully argued to the judge that the project paid for by Pyramid Project Management, which is proposing the Grand Wailea expansion, is a way for the developer to “circumvent” a number of special management area permit conditions needed for the expansion project.

For example, the Grand Wailea had been ordered to increase parking at its property and elsewhere in the Wailea resort.

Hall pointed out that Pyramid is financing the $86,000 beach access project.

Although Keawakapu is not adjacent to the Grand Wailea, paying for the access was part of the Pyramid’s permit that the judge vacated on Sept. 15 after he decided that adjacent landowners were improperly denied their request for intervener status before the Maui Planning Commission.

Attorney B. Martin Luna, representing Pyramid, said that although it is true that construction of parking stalls was a condition of the hotel’s special management area permit, that permit has been vacated by August.

The judge’s action means, Luna pointed out, that “the permit and all conditions set forth in the permit are now void. Pyramid cannot be fulfilling a requirement that no longer exists.”

“In no way shape or form is the Grand Wailea expansion part of this,” Luna said.

Community Association General Manager Bud Pikrone also insisted there is no connection between the project to build beach-access stalls and the hotel’s expansion.

“I’m disappointed,” Pikrone said of the stop-work order. “We thought we were supporting the county since it’s their land and (it’s) doing good for the community. Long before there was any Grand Wailea expansion planned, back in 2003, we were working on this beach project.”

He said adding parking for people going to beaches like Keawakapu was a county project at first. But plans remained shelved because county money wasn’t available for the project.

“We offered to pay for it because the alternative was parking on a dangerous and dusty road shoulder,” Pikrone said. “And, now, unfortunately, some people don’t see the benefit and are fighting it for their own personal reasons. This whole thing is crazy.”

Neighbors have said the parking project is unnecessary and would result in fewer parking spaces. Now, motorists park haphazardly in the dirt on the mauka side of the road. The project would create a partly paved, partly grassed walkway, with some parallel parking, on the mauka side of the road for beach access. On the makai side, where people have parked on grass, the project would install parallel spaces. Some of the current parking spaces would be lost, but it’s unclear how many.

Pikrone said the community association has its own special management area permit for the beach parking project. Work was supposed to be done in 10 days.

Now, the next move will be for both sides of the dispute to meet with August at a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.

WAILUKU – The Maui Planning Commission recommended approval Tuesday of A&B Properties’ requests for land use measures needed to proceed with the developer’s $151 million, 600-unit north Kihei project.

The next step is whether Mayor-elect Alan Arakawa and the new Maui County Council will support the bills seeking community plan amendments and changes of zoning.

If the measures and building permits are approved, construction of the “mixed-use” community on 94.3 acres could begin in late 2012 and last for five years, said A&B Properties Vice President Grant Chun.

By the time “For Sale” signs are ready to be planted in the north Kihei subdivision’s front yards, A&B is betting the housing market will have improved enough to sell the planned apartments, single-family homes, condominiums and commercial space.

Commission member Penny Wakida cast the only vote against A&B’s plans. She called the project “premature.” She said there are at least 600 home and condo listings unsold in Kihei. So, she asked Chun, what makes this project any different?

“This is for local residents,” Chun said. “And we see signs that our economy will improve over time, and we want to make sure that this project is ready so it dovetails in time for the need.”

On Tuesday, the commission voted 7-1 to support A&B’s requests for:

* About 53 acres, a community plan amendment from agriculture to multifamily apartments and a change of zoning from an agricultural to A-1 apartment district.

* About 15 acres, a community plan amendment from agriculture to multifamily and a change of zoning from an agricultural to A-2 apartment district.

* About 25 acres, a community plan amendment from agriculture to single family and a change of zoning from an agricultural to R-1 residential district.

* About 1.4 acres, a community plan amendment from agricultural to business/commercial and a change in zoning from agricultural to B-2 community business district.

Even with the construction industry in the dumps, the project has detractors other than Wakida, particularly since it is along the corner of Mokulele and Piilani highways. Some worried aloud that the rectangular-shaped subdivision would increase traffic and that its traffic-mitigation plans would not be good enough to get state Department of Transportation approval. Others called it “urban sprawl,” although Chun noted that it’s next to another subdivision along Piilani Highway.

The county Planning Department previously wanted the long-delayed Maui Island Plan and individual community plans completed before moving ahead on the north Kihei project.

However, two years ago, the state Land Use Commission supported reclassifying the land from agriculture to urban. The LUC put 28 conditions in place for the project to get approval. Those conditions included getting approval from the state Department of Transportation, meeting high energy-conservation standards and providing affordable housing intended for Maui County residents.

A&B also must provide the north Kihei subdivision with a 7-acre community park with all the amenities, at least 1 acre of green space and bicycle trials and walking paths. Project supporters pointed out that the county’s General Plan Advisory Committee included the project site within future urban-growth boundaries for the Maui Island Plan.

That plan is part of the General Plan 2030 update, and it would be a step toward including it in the Kihei-Makena Community Plan.

A&B also has completed an environmental impact statement for the site, and Chun said the environmental review found no significant obstacles. There were no findings that the project would have an adverse cultural impact on the land, and endangered plants and animals were not threatened either, he said.

The project would satisfy a work-force housing requirement by providing at least 25 percent of the homes in the affordable range. Other housing would be close to that price range, Chun said. The rest of the homes would be sold at market value.

Chun said the plan calls for two-thirds of the homes to be multifamily units, with “clusters” of condos and apartments as tall as four stories high. The remainder would be single-family homes, he said.

Developers also plan to include a 1.4-acre commercial area with a grocery store, barber shop and maybe a gas station or doctor’s office.

In addition, the subdivision would satisfy the county’s “Show Me the Water” ordinance by getting the 500,000 gallons a day it needs through an A&B-planned water treatment facility along Waiale Road, or A&B would dig the wells it needs, said planning consultant Mike Munekiyo.

The subdivision would create about 200,000 gallons a day of wastewater, which would be treated at the Kihei Wastewater Treatment Facility, he said.

As for rain runoff, the designs – which are not yet complete – call for much of it to go into retention ponds. The rest would go into the Waiakoa Gulch, and some commission members worried the runoff would further damage Maui’s delicate reef system. They wanted to see more done to avoid runoff into the ocean.

Chun noted that, although project planners have been working on the subdivision for five years, they still need to put together detailed designs, engineering plans and artist renderings.

Public testimony was short, but community activist Dick Mayer was among those with questions.

He called for evening public meetings on the project to allow more Kihei residents to attend. But commission Chairman Jonathan Starr said he’s seen “a lot of letters against this.”

Commission member Kent Hiranaga said it could be 10 years before the Maui Island Plan and individual community plans are completed, and it would be unfair to make people wait so long for affordable homes.

Mayer accused A&B of being in the zoning “entitlement collecting business.”

His comment was echoed by commission member Warren Shibuya, who expressed frustration with developers getting land entitlements and then not proceeding with plans.

“A&B is one of them,” he said.

But Shibuya added that he likes the north Kihei project and its location.

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.

For Immediate ReleaseDecember 01, 2010
Contact: corprel@freddiemac.com
or (703) 903-3933

Article from The Maui News

The turnover in resort real estate is expected to top $1 billion this year, marking a turnaround after a five-year slide.

Ricky Cassiday of Data@Work in Honolulu publishes an analysis of the market, released last week. He said sales statewide through three quarters indicate that total sales are “up almost 50 percent from a year ago.”

“This strong rebound comes at a price – more precisely, it comes thanks to falling prices,” he said.

The drop in resort residential prices over the past two years, about 30 percent, is the greatest fall in the history of Hawaii resort real estate, even greater than in 1977, he said.

Average prices touched $800,000 in mid-2007 and fell below $600,000 earlier this year.

Resales give a somewhat smoother view because new inventory comes into the market in uneven pulses, Cassiday said. Looking just at resales, activity has now risen for four consecutive quarters, and “average prices appear to have stabilized around the $1 million mark.”

There was a decided down-market trend among people still able to buy resort homes, often second homes, in Hawaii after the prices started going down.

At the peak in 2007, the lowest price class ($250,000 to $499,000) was comparatively sluggish, with 145 closings, while the next step up ($500,000 to $749,000) was nearly three times as active, with 446 sales.

Total sales for the two cheapest classes dropped by half the next year, to 308, but the balance started moving toward the cheapest class. (Since prices were falling, it is probable that buyers were getting next-to-bottom units at rock-bottom prices.)

The next year, sales numbers recovered to 450, and the two classes were closely matched – 205 cheap places and 245 not-quite-so-cheap places.

This year, the total of sales in those classes will exceed 2007’s total, but the cheapest class will slightly outnumber the next-cheapest.

Meanwhile, the most expensive class in Cassiday’s analysis, $3 million-plus, peaked at 162 sales in 2007, dropped as low as 87 in 2008 and is expected to recover to 121 this year.

These are statewide figures, and year-end 2010 numbers are extrapolated from the first three quarters.

In Maui County, resort residential sales peaked at 588 in 2005 but have now broken the 600 barrier and should reach 629 this year. The recent low point was 217 last year.

In Maui County, average prices peaked at more than $2 million in 2008, fell to $1.5 million last year and are predicted to fall below $1.4 million this year.

Foreclosures make up only about 10 percent of resales, Cassiday finds, and even less on Maui, where he expects 25 forced sales this year, compared with 434 market sales.

But foreclosures force prices down by much more. Foreclosure auction sales result in prices about half those of undistressed properties.

The spread is even greater on Maui, where foreclosure sales average $630,000 and market sales $1.4 million.

Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.

KAPALUA – The rebirth of the season-opening PGA Tour event at the Kapalua Plantation Course shifted into high gear with the announcements that Hyundai is the new title sponsor and will be in place for the next three years, and the event’s name will be the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

The event battled financial trouble for the last couple of years, leading to speculation that it could be leaving Kapalua or even the state. Thursday’s announcement from Hyundai Motor America and Seoul Broadcasting System International relieves those concerns.

SBS – the title sponsor 10 months ago – will continue to provide television coverage to South Korea through 2019, as it has done for PGA Tour events for more than 15 years.

”Was I worried that the event might not be staying in Hawaii? Yes I was,” tournament director Nancy Cross said Thursday. ”I am happy that a new title sponsor has stepped up. We knew that SBS had the ability to sell it, so we were curious slash concerned when that might be happening, to whom, all those sort of things.”

Mercedes was in the tournament name from 1999, when the event moved to Kapalua, to 2009.

Calling the event the Tournament of Champions reintroduces its original name. The event, which began in 1953 and has also been played in Nevada and California, includes only PGA Tour tournament winners from the prior season.

Mark Rolfing, an analyst for The Golf Channel and a longtime Kapalua resident, has been pushing for changes to the event’s eligibility rules for years, but not anymore. Rolfing’s foundation, the Mark and Debi Rolfing Charitable Foundation, is the new host of the tournament, having taken over for Kapalua Maui Charities over the summer. The tour requires that a nonprofit organization host its events.

“The Tournament of Champions name is going to change a lot of things,” Rolfing said. “A question I would get all the time is, ‘What is the Mercedes Championships? What is the SBS?’ Sometimes I didn’t even know how to answer other than to say, ‘Well, it is the Tournament of Champions.’ I had a few people say, ‘So why don’t you call it that?’

“You have to start with the players. If the players view it as the Tournament of Champions as opposed to the Mercedes or SBS championships, that goes a long way. Rocco (Mediate) called me two days after he won his tournament recently and he was so excited to come back to Kapalua and not as an announcer. I told him about the name change and he said, ‘You mean I am in the Tournament of Champions now? That is even more cool.’ ”

Rolfing has plans to invigorate the start of the season in several ways – including a long-drive contest, a festival for the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, a professional-celebrity shootout and interactive fan zones – but he announced that the tournament itself will remain grounded in its tradition.

“There has been enough improvement that I am no longer going to pursue an eligibility change,” he said. “We have got what we want – most importantly a new dynamic sponsor that is in tune with the Tournament of Champions.”

For the first time, admission will be free for every part of the tournament, an unprecedented move according to PGA Tour media officials.

“That was one of the really positive things for them,” Rolfing said of Hyundai. “They want to immediately become involved with the community. They went out and went to see people all over the island as they were becoming involved with all of this. They love the community aspect of this, that we are raising money for a myriad of charities on Maui that are really in need here. They love that we are really reaching out to the entire island, not just Kapalua.”

One element Rolfing unveiled on Thursday was a two-hour special on The Golf Channel on Jan. 5 that will preview the season and FedEx Cup.

“On Wednesday of tournament week we are going to have a launch to the season live in prime time, a two-hour show on The Golf Channel that will generate a huge audience,” he said. “The bowl games end Tuesday, the (NFL) playoffs start Saturday, so this will have the sporting world’s attention. This whole thing is going to happen up on the Plantation Course with PGA Tour players and celebrities and entertainment. A season launch with all the elements to launch the season with a bang, instead of just starting the season on Thursday morning.”

The tour appears to be happy with the contracts.

“We are delighted to welcome Hyundai to the PGA Tour family,” tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a news release. “In our discussions, Hyundai expressed interest in continuing its brand momentum throughout the U.S., as well as further strengthening its position in Asia. This title sponsorship will help accomplish these goals.”

Hyundai is expanding its luxury-car presence with the introduction of the Equus.

“Hyundai’s title sponsorship of the PGA Tour’s traditional season-opening tournament aligns our brand with world-class athletes who mirror our own competitive drive,” said John Krafci, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.

When play begins in January, Geoff Ogilvy will try to win the event for a third consecutive time.

Tiger Woods played in the tournament the first seven times it was held at Kapalua, winning in 2000, but has not been back for five years, though eligible each time. He has not won an event in 2010.

Cross and former tournament chairman Gary Planos are no longer employed by Kapalua. Planos is a consultant for the event.

“When (Kapalua Maui Charities) decided not to manage the event anymore, there was no need to have an events department, so it was eliminated,” Cross said. “Luckily some of us have been hired back on by the new host organization.”

Rolfing stressed that Planos, chairman of the tournament all 12 times it has been played on Maui, will always be a key figure in the event.

“He is going to be one of the ambassadors,” Rolfing said. “I hope he comes back every year.”

Rolfing said he had never seen a switch between title and secondary sponsorship like the one SBS and Hyundai made.

“There are a number of different opportunities out there, but they chose this one because they could see the potential,” Rolfing said of Hyundai. “They loved the beginning of the season, they loved opening in Hawaii, they loved the Tournament of Champions aspect. They were looking at other options, that is why it took so long.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

Article from: The Maui News