{"id":84,"date":"2026-05-15T10:05:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=84"},"modified":"2026-05-15T10:05:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:05:58","slug":"20-years-in-the-making-county-purchases-honolulu-landing-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=84","title":{"rendered":"20 years in the making: County purchases Honolulu Landing property"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda announced Thursday that after more than two decades of advocacy, the 364-acre coastal Puna property known as Honolulu Landing had been acquired by the county for preservation.<\/p>\n

Read more Feds charge Washington man for throwing large rock at monk seal on Maui<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda announced Thursday that after more than two decades of advocacy, the 364-acre coastal Puna property known as Honolulu Landing had been acquired by the county for preservation.<\/p>\n

The $3.7 million deal was made possible by the County Council\u2019s unanimous approval of Resolution 286-25 on Sept. 17 last year. It authorized the Department of Finance to negotiate the property\u2019s purchase using funds from the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission, also known as PONC \u2014 a county advisory body tasked with identifying lands for purchase based on their cultural, recreational and ecological value.<\/p>\n

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Money for PONC acquisitions comes from a fund comprised of 2% of annual property tax revenue.<\/p>\n

Honolulu Landing is situated between Nanawale Forest Reserve and Waiakahiula, comprised of 4,000 feet of rocky, undeveloped shoreline and a broad swath of deep jungle, making up a traditional Hawaiian land division known as an ahupua\u2018a. It is scattered with village complexes, burial sites, temples known as heiau, house platforms and traditional farming terraces \u2014 an archaeological record of Puna district\u2019s past and the result of centuries of human habitation.<\/p>\n

Although vacant in modern times, the property \u2014 known as a \u201cwahi pana\u201d or sacred place by many \u2014 is home to endangered species like the io (Hawaiian hawk), opeapea (Hawaiian hoary bat) and pueo (Hawaiian owl), as well as native trees like hau, kukui and hala.<\/p>\n

Alameda\u2019s announcement was celebrated by cultural practitioners, scientists and conservation groups, and especially by some lineal descendants of the area. Among this latter group was Lehua Kaulukukui, who said her great-grandmother was born on the property in 1876. The land, she said in past testimony supporting the resolution, is a part of her genealogy, reminding her that humans are \u201cnot separate from the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are genealogically connected to it \u2014 we all descend from that same cosmic origin,\u201d Kaulukukui told a County Council committee last year during discussions about the purchase. \u201cHonolulu Landing is part of that genealogy. Its walls, heiau, house sites and burials are not relics. They are living testaments to our place in the universal order. To disturb them is to break the chain between past and future, between earth and sky, between people and the cosmos.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a prepared statement shared with the Tribune-Herald, she thanked various county officials for their \u201cleadership and commitment\u201d in advancing the resolution past the finish line.<\/p>\n

\u201dThis pivotal moment represents more than policy,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt is an affirmation of the enduring relationship between our people and this beloved wahi pana. Honolulu Landing holds the legacy of our Tutu, Mary Kaui Moke Kuamo\u2018o Keli\u2018ipio, and generations of ohana before her who lived in deep alignment with this aina. We recognize this action as a meaningful step toward the protection and preservation of Honolulu Landing, ensuring that its cultural, historical, and spiritual significance remains intact for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Thunder bury Lakers in second half to take 3-0 series lead<\/a><\/p>\n

The land got its name in the early 20th century when it served as a hub for interisland commerce. From the early 1900s up until the 1940s, cattle were driven across the lava field shoreline and made to swim out to waiting steamships, which would hoist the animals onboard before beginning their journey back to Oahu. Before that, a black sand beach resulting from the 1840 Nanawale eruption and lava flow created an ideal spot for launching canoes along an otherwise rocky, treacherous coast. Honolulu means \u201csheltered harbor\u201d or \u201ccalm port\u201d in the Hawaiian language.<\/p>\n

Local activists also celebrated the good news, like former County Council member Eileen O\u2019Hara, who currently serves as the executive director of Pahoa-based environmental nonprofit Malama O Puna. O\u2019Hara lives in the Hawaiian Shores subdivision right up the coast from the now-preserved land, and has been petitioning the county for its protection since it landed on the inaugural PONC list back in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just really, really happy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m happy for future generations. I feel like I can point to this and say I did something meaningful \u2014 really meaningful \u2014 for my community. To me, it\u2019s just thrilling to succeed in this long-term endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The property was previously slated for development by Nani Kahuka Aina LLC, which had owned it since 2006, but these plans didn\u2019t move forward. Then it was listed for sale in the summer of 2025. This could have resulted in the property being used for the construction of a new coastal subdivision along Old Government Beach Road, posing a threat to its archaeological sites and botanical wealth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important \u2014 we don\u2019t want to see more development down here,\u201d O\u2019Hara said. \u201cJust imagine 200 one-acre lots being developed on that property, and the additional traffic that would cause. It would not be something that would be a benefit to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The land\u2019s potential for archaeological study, she said, is a critical reason why it should be left as open space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why it\u2019s so important to preserve it, because it\u2019s very much still an intact village up there,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s grown over and there\u2019s a lot of new vegetation, but you can uncover a lot as you get further away from the road. It\u2019s pretty exciting to think of what we might find.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the lessons that the property\u2019s \u201cliving record of the past\u201d could teach contemporary Hawaii Island residents about self-sufficiency and \u201cmalama aina\u201d are most important.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis takes us back and allows us to look at how the host culture dealt with these lands,\u201d she said. \u201cThey lived here for centuries, and they had a population that may have exceeded what we currently have on the Big Island by some estimates. And they were self-sufficient and lived off the land, and we\u2019ve rolled backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Legislative session adjourns with passage of tax relief, a song and farewells<\/a><\/p>\n

Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

20 years in the making: County purchases Honolulu Landing property – Hawaii News | Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n20 years in the making: County purchases Honolulu Landing property - Moving to Hawaii Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=84\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"20 years in the making: County purchases Honolulu Landing property - Moving to Hawaii Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"20 years in the making: County purchases Honolulu Landing property - 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