Kauai Newsletter
May 2005

Aloha from the Garden Isle!

It has been a cold, wet spring (cold by our standards being anything under 75 degrees), but finally the sun is shining on the mountains again. Surf's up, the ahi's fresh as ever, and we've got plenty of mai tais waiting for you, so come on over!

As Kauai opens its summer visitor season, a beautiful new housing project will be breaking ground on the North Shore. Another, more massive resort project planned for the East Shore is lining up permits to begin.

Ka'Iulani, Named for a Princess

In Princeville, the $115-million Ka'iulani development will have its ground-breaking ceremony June 18. The 77-home community will consist of high-end duplexes and triplexes set along a 17-acre bluff overlooking the ocean, the mountains, and the Prince golf course. The project was named after a Kauaian princess renowned for her refinement and Western education, as well as her beauty. Lushly-landscaped walking paths will wind through the complex, which will also offer water features. Nearly 70 percent sold out, the Ka'iulani development fills a need for buyers looking for a high-end, newly-constructed home or second home with the managed setting of a condo. The project is expected to take a year and a half to complete. So if you come to Princeville during that time and you wonder what's going on in that field just past Villas on the Prince -- that's it!

With the Plantation and Nihi Lani condo projects going up in the middle of Princeville, along Pepelani Loop, there will be no further condo development in Princeville.

Kauai Lagoons

But on the east side of the island, massive development is in the works. Those of you who have been reading this newsletter already know about the new luxury beachfront Waipouli condos which will be built across from Safeway in Kapaa. Now, a 327-acre, $1.5 billion (that's right, billion) resort is quietly going about obtaining permits from the county to build timeshares, condos, homes, restaurants, and a spa. The resort, known as Kauai Lagoons, is near the Marriott and the airport, and will encompass two golf courses and extensive beachfront acreage. The developer expects to sell home lots starting at $1 million and condos at $700 per square foot. This beachfront resort development will doubtless appeal to mainland buyers. But what about traffic in already-congested Kapaa?

Bypass Construction and a Possible Four-Lane Highway

Well, it's not a permanent solution, but after nearly a year after receiving $3.5 million in state funds to extend the Kapaa bypass road, the county is finally beginning the project. The current bypass road, which has poor signage and is little known to visitors, goes from Wailua to Kapaa, and the new extension will take it further north from Kapaa to the intersection of the highway with Kawaihau and Hauaala Roads, near the turn-off for Kapaa schools. What they really need to do is extend it more in the other direction, toward Lihue. The county sees the current bypass road only as a temporary solution, and has not yet come up with plans or funding for a route that would fully bypass Kapaa. Once the new resort projects are complete, if not before, residents and visitors alike will surely be crying out for better transportation alternatives.

Perhaps with that fear in mind, local representatives got the Hawaii state legislature to include $31.5 million in the state's 2006-7 proposed budget to widen Kaumauali'i Highway from two to four lanes from Lihue to Kipu (south of Lihue and on the way to Poipu), and possibly add a median strip along parts of the highway. This project won't solve traffic problems in Kapaa, but it will help ease congestion around the Kukui Grove area. Also included in the new budget is $4 million for improvements to Kuhio Highway between Kapaa and Hanamaulu, and $28 million to repair or replace North Shore bridges, as well as spare change to repair guard rails, bridge end posts and rails, retaining walls, traffic signals, and roadway shoulders. Let's hope this budget passes without revisions!

There's Always the Bike Path

If it doesn't, we can exercise our frustrations on the new bike path. One leg of a scenic 20-mile bike and walking path going all the way from Anahola on the east side to Nawiliwili Bay in Lihue has been built, and another, longer stretch from Donkey Beach to the end of Kealia Beach will be finished this year. Three more stretches will eventually complete the one-of-a-kind coastal trail. The path will offer vistas of golden beaches and sparkling ocean, framed by palm and ironwood trees, and in the wintertime some cyclists may even glimpse breaching whales in the distance. There is nothing else like this 12-foot-wide shoreline path anywhere in Hawaii, or perhaps anywhere at all. It is made possible by private land donations as well as federal funding. The only part completed so far is the 2/3-mile stretch south of Wailua Beach along Lydgate Park. But the county has just given a $12 million contract to a builder to put in an especially gorgeous 4.3-mile section of the path, along Donkey and Kealia Beach. The concrete pathway will be built for cyclists and pedestrians, with a dirt section north of Kealia for horses. The contract for the upcoming leg also includes building bridges and picnic facilities with rest rooms. The path will preserve for residents and visitors alike uninterrupted access to Kauai's stunning Coconut Coast shoreline.

More People and Less Sugar

More of both are coming to the island. Our visitor count is up, and Kauai, along with the other Neighbor Islands is outpacing Oahu in population growth. While the state as a whole grew only 1.1 percent from July 2004 to July 2004, Kauai gained 2 percent in population, compared to 1.8 percent for Maui and just .7 percent for Honolulu. While Maui County was the fastest growing county from 1990 to 2001, the Big Island has now surpassed its rate, and is growing fastest, at 2.7 percent a year, mostly in North Kona and in Puna, where there is still relatively cheap land, but little infrastructure to support the development going on. Here, officials require that adequate roads, water sources, and sewage systems be place before development can occur, though one wonders how much attention they pay to increased traffic.

Ever since the '70s, Big Sugar has been slowly moving out of Hawaii to less costly realms, and Kauai has been no exception. The old abandoned factories, rusting and surrounded by tall trees and old cane fields, have a nostalgic look that is surprisingly appealing. Residents have long wondered what would become of the looming steel hulks after the plants shut down. Now a Seattle investment group, Pacific Funds LLC, has bought both the Lihue and the Kekaha mills, but they're being very mum about what they intend to use the old buildings for (as well as how much they paid for them.) The Lihue mill was built in 1850 and stayed at least partly operational until 2000. Our local utility company considered purchasing it for use as an electric power generator before the current sale. It'll be interesting to see what in the world the Seattle people do with it ... stay tuned!

Vacation Rentals -- What's YOUR Opinion?

Kauai has only a handful of pricey hotels, and most repeat visitors spend at least some time in vacation rentals, which offer more space and a price break. Vacation rentals also help provide non-resident condo owners or homeowners with an income to offset their mortgage payments. But some residents are unhappy with the growing number of vacation rentals in their neighborhoods, especially when tax assessments go up.The county is holding a series of fact-finding meetings across the island where people can voice their concerns, pro and con, about the rentals. One of the issues that has come up is whether such rentals outside the resort areas of Princeville and Poipu should be allowed. Though the subject of vacation rentals is a heated one, participants are expressing their views with aloha, and there's a lot of listening, as well as talking, going on. If you have an opinion you would like to express on this subject, let me know. I will collect the responses and get them to the mayor. The next meeting is scheduled for late May.

Albatrosses in Living Color

The "hanai" (adopted) albatross chick I wrote about in the last newsletter is still thriving, and it turns out he's not the only one. A total of 27 albatross eggs were moved by the US Fish and Wildlife Service from nests at the Pacific Range Missile Facility in Kekaha to empty nests in Princeville. The Navy had considered breaking the eggs of the birds, which when they grow up, fly low over the base's runways and could collide with planes. In the meantime, there were many empty nests in Princeville. Albatrosses, particularly young ones, have a high rate of infertile eggs. So the Missile Range eggs were all moved, and except for one day-old chick that died in heavy rains, all were accepted by their new parents, survived, and are now getting big and fat and ready to fledge. Click on this link and scroll down to see pictures of the Princeville albatrosses and their babies: www.bigfootmm55.blogspot.com.

A Beacon Turned On, A Family Honored

If you are coming to Kauai soon, you will be able to see the once-a-year spectacle of the Kilauea Lighthouse being lit on Saturday, May 7th. Their will be low-key festivities at the lighthouse that day, as it celebrates its 92nd birthday, and the great light, once a beacon that warned ships of dangerous island rocks and shallows as they traveled to and from Asia and the West Coast, will be turned on that evening.

Those of you who have been on the island's popular Wailua River boat tours to the famous Fern Grotto can join us in congratulating the Smith family, which has operated the tour boats for three generations. Smith's Motor Boat Services just won a national award for being the best family-owned small business in the country. The award was presented in Washington, DC by the Small Business Administration. Smith's boat company was started in 1946 by the grandfather of current owner Walter "Kamika" Smith, and now employs 140 people, 15 of whom are descendants of the founder. Congratulations, Smiths, and mahalo for your wonderful service!

Gorgeous Trail Returns

One of the most scenic North Shore trails that had been a hopeless mess since Hurricane Iniki blew through back in 1992 has been lovingly restored at last by Sierra Club volunteers. The Okolehau Trail, a 2.25-mile path that begins at the China Ditch off the Hanalei River and climbs 1,200 feet up to the Halelea Forest Reserve, was hit so hard by the hurricane that state crews stopped maintaining it. Without special funding, it languished for years until Sierra Club members lobbied to gain access. Then for eight years, volunteers lugged chain saws and week whackers up the steep slope and brought down branches and debris. Finally, the trail has reopened. The hard work was worth it. This trail has awesome views of Hanalei Bay, Hanalei Valley, mountains, and waterfalls. Don't miss it on your next trip. And don't miss the lesson that with the right spirit and determination, you may not be able to move mountains, but you can get yourself over them.

Real Estate

This March saw an island-wide increase in prices and decrease in sales over March 2004. That's what happens when you have a shortage of inventory and high buyer demand. In the Hanalei district, which includes Waiakalua, Kahili Makai, Kilauea, Princeville, Hanalei and Haena, only 7 homes were sold, compared to 12 in March 2004. Condo sales decreased from 18 to 13. Land sales remained stable (6 last year, 7 this year.) In Koloa, which includes Poipu, Lawai, Omao, and Kalaheo, home sales increased from 12 to 16, but condo sales decreased from 18 to 12.

Prices in the Hanalei district remained relatively steady, with the median home price $749,000, compared with $787,500 for the same month last year. While newly-built homes are gobbled up quickly, some of the '80s houses with features in need of updating continue to sit on the market. But in Princeville alone, prices are definitely up over last year's. Condo prices remained the same, at a median of $535,000 compared with $534,403 last year. Land prices appeared to shoot up from a median price of $782,500 in March 2004 to $1,050,000 this March -- but with only 6 or 7 sales, numbers can be easily skewed by a single sale.

Koloa saw the most impressive price gains for March. The median house price there went from $465,000 in March 2004 to $680,000 this March, a 46 percent increase. Condos increased from a median of $346,500 to $685,000, a 98 percent increase. The land sales price median in the Koloa district was $295,000. There's no comparison to last year because no land parcels were sold there in March 2004. Koloa has very little developable land left.

That’s all for now. Please feel free to e-mail me with real estate questions, and remember, the week before your next visit to the island, let me know you're coming and I’ll e-mail you appropriate listings. You can then sift through them and select the most promising so that you don’t waste precious vacation time wandering around open houses or running to last-minute showings. I'll be seeing you!

With warmest aloha,