Lynda Gill’s Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii Real Estate at Pacific Ocean Properties

Kauai Real Estate Update

I believe this could be Kauai’s most expensive and exclusive listing yet.  Kahu’aina Plantation is a 357 acre beachfront property in Hanalei that comes with some interesting options; there are 80 fully entitled homesites ready for immediate construction, or you can do multiple family estates or your third option is to build one incredible estate that would rival any other in the world.  The price is $67,500,000 for this fee simple waterfront property with direct beach access.  It’s been 7 years of meticulous planning for the Sellers to offer this property with all development requirements.  Call or email me for more information.

Sales to note last week were 4 of the little houses our company was offering all went into escrow.  These are incredible buys for a little house in the heart of the Poipu Kai Resort.  6,000 square feet of land and 1,132 area of living space with a great floor plan to convert to a home.

Last week we had a huge number of properties go into escrow, the number of these properties that went off the market far exceed what came on the market.  For a complete list CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Safeway Grocery Store Update

I get asked about Safeway in Puhi a lot, believe it or not.  Currently we have one Safeway on the island and it’s in Kapaa which is an hour drive from Poipu and about a half hour drive from Lihue.  The store is very popular but with traffic can be hard to get to.  A couple of years ago Safeway announced they were opening up a center in Puhi, right by the elementary school.  Then the road improvements started and understandably Safeway put off construction.  So that’s the back story.

It was announced this week that they are expected to start construction the second half of this year.  This center will be a commercial center with Safeway being the anchor store, additionally there will be restaurants and retail.  Leases are being finalized and updates will be released as they become available.

Seven People Rescued At Sea

It’s Gilligans Island all over again, with a twist!  Blue Dolphin, a leading tour boat company, spotted 7 people standing atop their overturned boat last Saturday and they were able to facilitate a rescue.  If you were on that Blue Dolphin tour that day you got a lot more for your money than lunch and snorkeling!

When found the “castaways” had been standing on top of their boat for 2 hours.  The 7 occupants were in their boat heading for Hanalei when the sea started getting really choppy throwing more and more water into the boat.  The locals were bailing water out of the boat and shifting from one side to the next to avoid capsizing but it was no use, the boat flipped over but fortunately the anchor flipped over as well and it grounded itself and kept the boat in one spot.  The occupants climbed on top of the boat and waited for help that they were not sure would come.  One of the castaways said they found a wayward gecko on the boat so she put him on her shoulder and he got rescued along with the rest of the crew.

No injuries were reported and the castaways enjoyed Mai Tais on the trip back into shore along with the rest of the tourist.

Vacation Rental Homes Pay More For Trash Pick Up

Owners of Vacation Rental Homes will no longer be eligible for trash pick-up under the Residential Refuse Collection Assessment ordinance.  They are now subject to commercial rates under the new County Ordinance 905 which starts May 15, 2012.  The monthly fee for vacation rentals is $84 for weekly pick up instead of the Residential rate of $6 a month for weekly trash pick up.  For owners of vacation rental homes that have not applied for a county commercial account by the May 15 deadline will cease on July 1, when refuse bins will be collected, the county states.

If you own a vacation rental condo there’s a good chance this does not affect you.  It’s likely due to the volume of trash collected they have already contracted with a commercial contractor.