Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, golf course and other real estate assets sells to new owner-first time in 35 years!!

The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, golf course, racket club, greeting center and 1000+ plus acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the resort have sold.  The Tokyu Corporation via several entities owned these assets and are the original developer of the entire 3000+ acre resort.  Click here to Search Mauna Lani properties.

This is the press release by the Tokyu Corporation from May 13, 2017:

KOHALA COAST, HAWAII – Mauna Lani Resort (Operation), Inc., subsidiary of Tokyu Corporation, today announced the transfer of ownership of its Mauna Lani holdings, comprised of the legendary Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, the Francis H. Ii Brown Golf Courses and other assets including undeveloped land and facilities. The new owner is DHL Mahi Associates LLC, an affiliate of ProspectHill Group – a California-based real estate operating company with a history of successful resort development in the Hawaiian Islands.

“While Tokyu Corporation has been deeply honored to help create Mauna Lani – one of the world’s best resorts that still stands as a model of innovative planning and thoughtful land stewardship more than 40 years after it was built – the time has come to transfer to a new owner that can help take Mauna Lani into its next era,” said Toshiyuki Hoshino, senior managing executive officer, Tokyu Corporation. “We are confident in ProspectHill Group’s ability to build on our former chairman Mr. Noboru Gotoh’s vision to transform what was once a center of native Hawaiian community life into a world-class resort, delighting guests from around the globe,” added Hoshino.

Prospect Hill Group intends to continue its tradition of high quality resort development, drawing on the principal’s past experience at Hualalai Resort and Kukio.

“We are proud to continue to advance the tremendous vision of its founders by making further investments into this exceptional property, which is one of the most stunningly-beautiful, deeply-treasured destinations on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island,” said Gregory Hartman, partner of ProspectHill Group.

Operations are expected to continue without interruption, and all hotel and golf reservations will be honored. All of the nearly 500 employees at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows and Francis H. Ii Brown Golf Courses are expected to be rehired under the new owner.

“We are so grateful to former Tokyu chairman Noboru Gotoh and to Francis H. Ii Brown – who has been referred to as the “last alii” – and their legendary friendship and partnership that made Mauna Lani possible. We take seriously our responsibility to honor the legacy of Mauna Lani and to continue to preserve and protect this special place for generations to come,” said Hartman.

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For those of you not familiar with the history of the resort, here is a synopsis:

-King Kamehameha I’s heirs owned the 1,359 acre area around the Mauna Lani fish ponds, when Samuel Parker, grandson of John Palmer Parker (the founder of the Parker Ranch empire), purchased the land for $1,550 in the late 1800s.

-In 1936 Francis Hyde I’i Brown, descendant of Papa I’i, one of Kamehameha’s generals, acquired these lands that included the shoreline property that comprises Makaiwa Bay, the fishponds and surrounding lands from the family of Eva Parker Woods for $6,000 including the small cottage James Frank Woods built for his bride Eva Parker.

-Francis H. I’i Brown was a territorial representative, extraordinary golfer and fisherman.  Kalahuipua’a, as the area is known, has always been considered sacred land by Hawaiians. Kamehameha I, was said to have had a small fishing village and canoe landing adjacent to these prized ponds. When he had completed his acquisition of the land in 1936, Brown took special care to ensure that Kalahuipua’a would remain a uniquely “Hawaiian” place forever.  During the years of his stewardship, he restored the ponds, built rudimentary roads and retaining walls and planted many of the of palms that today make Mauna Lani Resort such a lush oasis.  Brown wanted to spend time there with the woman known as the love of his life, Winona Love. Half Hawaiian and half-English, Winona was known for her beauty and graceful hula. The dapper athlete and fluid dancer met at the opening of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1927, and stayed together the rest of their lives.

-Francis Brown was a renowned and gifted athlete. He loved boating and fishing, but his skill as a golfer was legendary. He participated in Bing Crosby’s Pebble Beach Clambake and owned a home in Pebble Beach.  He held the Hawaii golf course record at the Old Course at St. Andrews for many years with a 62 in a practice round prior to the 1924 British Amateur. He was the amateur champion of Hawaii, Japan and California simultaneously.

-Kenny Brown, his nephew, remembers his uncle as a humble man. “He was the only man to drive the 12th green at Waialae (432 yards) and to carry over the 18th green at Pebble Beach (548 yards) in two shots,” the younger Brown recalls. “But in response to my awe he told me, ‘Remember, nephew, in those days they didn’t water so heavily, so the fairways were hard as rock. And the ball was smaller, too.’ His modesty never diminished my sense of wonder.”

-The two Mauna Lani courses — the Francis H. I’i Brown North and South Golf Courses were constructed amongst the vast, dark fields of lava. The original 18 hole course was opened in 1981 and designed by architects Homer Flint and Raymond Cain. The golf course features one par-3 hole crossing a wide Pacific inlet, another par-3 playing into a coliseum of lava, and many holes whose primary challenge was to hit the bright green fairways and greens, avoiding the lava formations in the landing areas and on both sides of the fairways. The golf course received incredible reviews from the moment it opened.

-Francis Brown became friends with Noboru Gotoh, the chairman of the Tokyu Corporation, at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Kenneth Brown wrote, “Soon afterward, Mr. Gotoh visited Kalahuipua’a and together they began to dream about an international resort where affluent people could come together to relax and play golf in an atmosphere of total harmony. And that was the origin of Mauna Lani Resort.”

The two men shared a love for the sport of golf and a passion for the environment that later lay the foundation of their vision for the resort. They planned a resort retreat that would reward its guests while preserving its history and sense of place.

-In 1972 Brown sold the property to the Tokyo Corporation which changed the name Kalahuipua`a to Mauna Lani (Mountains Reaching Heaven) in reference to the five volcanic mountains surrounding the area.

-Francis I’i Brown died before construction began on Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows and his dream became a reality. He died in August 1976 at his home in Pebble Beach, he was 83 years old.  His heir, Kenny Brown, was chairman of Mauna Lani Resort and descendant guardian until his death in 2014.

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Written by Rick Oliver on May 18, 2017
Posted in: Significant Sales | Tags: 2017, Mauna Lani, property sales