Posted: February 24, 2010
WAILUKU - When Towne Development of Hawaii started selling affordably priced homes in its 2,000-home Kehalani subdivision in Central Maui in the 1990s, customers would wait in line for hours to get on the buyers' list.
Fast-forward to Tuesday, and the developers went before the Maui Planning Commission to ask for their own wait: They want to hold off, up to two years, on finishing their almost completed Ke Ali'i Ocean Villas and Moana Estates residential housing subdivisions in Kihei.
While the housing market shows signs of improvement, Towne Development still wants more time before it must complete 144-unit condominium and 90-lot single-family home projects, said Christopher Lau, president of Towne Development of Hawaii in Honolulu.
Sales have slowed down, so the company wants to curtail construction to remain financially responsible, Lau told commissioners. However, he told commissioners he doesn't want to wait too long, so Towne Development is positioned properly when the real estate industry on Maui regains its momentum.
On Tuesday, the Maui Planning Commission deferred a decision on whether to grant a two-year time extension on completing the projects mauka Kamaole I Beach Park, behind the ABC store. The two projects were due for completion this month and in April as conditions of the special management area use permits that Maui County granted Towne Development five years ago.
Lau said only 33 of Ke Ali'i Ocean Villas' 144 condos are not yet finished. Eight of the 11 buildings that house the condos also have been built, with a ninth almost completed.
"We hope to start the last two buildings this summer," Lau said.
Lau said the developer needs a little extra time for the housing market and bank lending to pick up.
As for the housing subdivision, which is called Moana Estates or Ke Ali'i Kai Phase II, Lau said that every lot has been improved, and all but 11 homes have been built. A two-bedroom, three-bathroom house in Moana Estates goes for $725,000, according to online real estate listings.
The first phase of the development is called Ke Ali'i Kai. Finished recently, the project contains 95 homes and is located by the other two subdivisions next to Kamalii Elementary School.
Lau also said the company will continue to meet its obligation and finish work on a north-south collector road for the Moana Estates development, which sits along Kanakanui Road near Piilani Highway.
Lau is busy these days. In addition to running Towne Development, a judge recently appointed Lau as the commissioner in charge of selling Makena Beach & Golf Resort, which is the former Maui Prince Hotel and Makena Resort. Last year, the hotel's and resort's lenders foreclosed on its prior owners, Everett Dowling and Morgan Stanley Real Estate.
Courtesy of Chris Hamilton, staff writer at The Maui News.
