A Chinese company is now the owner of 514 acres of undeveloped land in Kapolei slated for residential development after buying the site from James Campbell Co.
The $103.4 million sale to China Oceanwide Holdings Ltd. will advance development of Oahu’s “Second City” as the seller and buyer begin installing roads and drainage for the site known as Kapolei West, approved for up to 2,500 homes, a golf course, an elementary school and a transit hub.
Campbell Co., which reported Thursday the sale had been completed, said it will spend more than $23 million with China Oceanwide on infrastructure improvements to include extending Kapolei Parkway.
No timetable was given for home construction on the site.
“This is an important step in fulfilling the Kapolei Area Long-Range Master Plan,” Richard Dahl, president and CEO of Campbell Co., said in a statement. “Since Kapolei West’s approval in 2008, we have sought out an exceptional residential master developer to bring the long-standing plans for this project to fruition. China Oceanwide has a strong track record of investment, with significant U.S. investments since 2013, and is currently developing resort properties in Ko Olina.”
Steven Wang with China Oceanwide said the company has no specific plans or development timeline but looks forward to working with the community to determine the best way to realize the vision for Kapolei.
China Oceanwide is an affiliate of Oceanwide Holdings Co., a Chinese conglomerate engaged in real estate, finance and investing primarily in China. Last year the company adopted an overseas real estate development strategy and has looked at Hawaii as an attractive market in which to invest.
Earlier this year China Oceanwide paid $280 million for a beachfront site at Ko Olina on which the company plans to build a hotel under the Atlantis Resorts brand, and $200 million for a nearby beachfront site on which up to two luxury hotels and one luxury condo are envisioned.
Developing Kapolei West revives more than 20-year-old plans for the project once envisioned as an expansion of Ko Olina. The original developer of the resort, the late Herbert Horita, had an option to buy the site and in 1991 proposed building 3,500 homes around a second golf course for the resort.
A subsequent owner of Ko Olina, local developer Jeff Stone, later announced plans to buy 324 acres of the Kapolei West site to develop a golf course surrounded by 2,900 homes, but financing was derailed amid turmoil after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In 2004 an affiliate of what is now Campbell Co. shared its own vision for Kapolei West that included 2,370 homes, 25 acres of park space, 44 acres of open space and a shopping complex on the site once planted in sugar cane. At the time, the landowner said it was considering developing the project alone or with a partner. Four years later the city approved a zoning change for the site allowing residential, commercial and recreational uses.
