An East Hawaii developer says he hopes to jump-start the economy along the Hamakua Coast with a new, multiuse project rooted in the property’s history.
Meanwhile, some neighbors of the 9-acre parcel in Hakalau are awaiting a decision regarding their request that the county purchase the land to preserve it as a park.
The Hakalau Plantation Community would be mixed-use, including commercial and industrial spaces using the two historic mill buildings at Hakalau Point, formerly home to the Hakalau Plantation Co. The development also would include two new commercial/industrial buildings and 11 homes on the property, according to developer Steve Shropshire of Aloha Green LLC.
The multiuse development is an attempt to develop and revitalize the area, while keeping its history alive and preserving its character through the use of smart-growth concepts, Shropshire said.
“A lot of folks say we shouldn’t develop any more housing, we should limit it, because it competes with agriculture,” he said. “My answer to that is what we need to do is to be building housing in areas where there is existing infrastructure and existing townships. Hakalau is a prime example of that.
“What we’re finding is that there’s a lot of people coming in and buying larger agricultural estates and they want peace and solitude, and a lot of them, they may fence the property. … I don’t necessarily think that trend is doing a lot to promote local agriculture. I think that what’s smarter is to provide housing opportunities for people in areas where there is a concentration of infrastructure.”
The 11 single-family home plots along the cliffs overlooking the ocean and Hakalau Bay range in size from 13,115 square feet to 18,490 square feet, and would follow traditional, “Hawaii plantation home” design cues, Shropshire said.
Proposed commercial activities for the site are focused on agriculture, Shropshire said, with businesses such as coffee, chocolate and more, making a good fit for the area. Agricultural “value-added” processing, a farm-to-table restaurant and tasting and retail facilities could serve as draws for tourists to boost the area’s economy and revitalize the surrounding community, which is home to about 300 people.
The development also could serve as a gathering place for cultural tours into Hakalau Valley, featuring information on kalo growing, Hawaiian medicinal plants and more, he said. The developers also considered putting a plantation history museum on-site, as well as a community pavilion for hosting a farmers market and other uses.
Shropshire, a resident of Papaikou, said he has encountered some pushback from neighbors concerned about developing a site that has played such a large role in defining the history and character of Hakalau. But, he argued, the area once was a bustling town, complete with its own theater, hospital and many more homes than now.
“We’re trying to bring back some of the uses it has seen before,” he said.
Ken and Susan Forbes, who live on Old Mamalahoa Highway not far from the property, said Thursday they are opposed to the Hakalau Plantation Community.
“I think it needs to be a public space,” Susan Forbes said. “It’s a site that I feel needs to be honored. … Thousands and thousands of people went through that site, it was the hub of the plantation. There’s so much history.”
Forbes’ husband agreed, saying the development would “transform (Hakalau Point) entirely.”
“When Steve (Shropshire) talked about his vision for the area, my reaction was pretty strong. That’s not my vision,” he said. “Putting a subdivision out there on the point of the bay, there are many members of the Hamakua community who do not want that.”
On June 30, Susan Forbes submitted a request to the county Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission to consider purchasing the property from Shropshire to preserve it as a public space.
At the commission’s last meeting in September, members ranked the property as the No. 3 priority on their 2015 list of potential purchases. On Nov. 9, they will meet again to narrow down the recommendations they will make to the mayor toward the end of December, said Alexandra Kelepolo, a property management technician with the county Finance Department.
She said regardless of the decision, the owner of the property would be under no obligation to sell it to the county.
Shropshire said Tuesday he provided a sales price of $4.5 million, which takes into account not just the appraised value of the property, but also his company’s investment into the project, which he said represented “millions.” The total taxable value of the property, which includes two separate parcels and the buildings on the property, is $838,900, according to the Hawaii County Real Property Tax Office.
Despite the opposition from some neighbors and the pending decision of the county regarding purchasing the property, Shropshire says he intends for the time being to move forward with the project. In the next month or so, he plans to file a rezoning request with the county to “down-zone” the property from its current industrial zoning to a combination of commercial-industrial and residential uses.
“There are many uses that would be acceptable in its current zoning. … One of the things we’re willing to do is eliminate some of the more invasive uses. Under the (current) MG zoning, which has the widest range of potential uses … it could have an auto salvage yard, sawmills. There’s all kinds of crazy things we would not do. We want to eliminate those invasive uses,” he said.
Established in 1878 by Claus Spreckels, the Hakalau Sugar Plantation Co. operated on 9,000 acres of land and included the Hakalau Sugar Mill, which was built in 1890 at the mouth of the Hakalau Gulch. A road, cart rail and water flume were used to carry workers, supplies and sugarcane down to the mill. Processed sugar and other freight was transferred to and from boats in Hakalau Harbor.
The April 1, 1946, tsunami inundated the valley, swamping the mill, which sat only 10 feet above sea level, with swells of 20 feet above sea level, according to a history of the tsunami.
The operation then began a long process of consolidation and moving to other locations along the coast, including merging with the Pepeekeo Sugar Co. in 1963. It merged again in 1973 with the Mauna Kea Sugar Co., and the Hakalau Mill was shut down the following year.
The two plantation warehouses that remain on Shropshire’s property at Hakalau Point were built in 1920.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
