Developer Peter Savio will help Koloa plantation camp tenants on Kauai try to stave off eviction and buy their houses — in the way he aided Poamoho, Oahu, residents in remaining in their houses.

"We’re going to do the same thing as we did at Poamoho. … It’s the same concept," Savio said Friday in an interview, noting his role in buying the land at Poamoho Camp and turning around and selling the homes to tenants facing eviction in 2004.

"It’s a part of history that’s worth preserving," Savio said about Koloa Camp.

Savio was among about 100 people attending a regularly scheduled meeting of the Koloa Community Association on Thursday. At the meeting he shared with attendees his willingness to help tenants at Koloa Camp, one of the last remnants of the Koloa plantation, the first sugar plantation in Hawaii.

Grove Farm Co. has proposed to build Waihohonu, a 50-unit residential subdivision at Koloa Camp. In November the landowner issued eviction notices to 13 tenants, eight in residential houses and five on agricultural lots. The tenants were ordered to vacate by March 8.

Alternatives proposed to Grove Farm by some residents include the landowner selling the lots to tenants.

Savio met with the affected tenants earlier this week and toured the small, rustic neighborhood that includes century-old homes. During his visit, he said, he told tenants he is willing to help them.

He plans to attend a community outreach meeting to be held by Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Koloa Neighborhood Center. Savio said he will discuss his plan to help Koloa Camp tenants.

In 2004 Savio agreed to acquire Poamoho Camp north of Wahiawa after Del Monte Fresh Produce, which held the lease to the land, announced the camp shutdown because the lease was not being renewed. Savio borrowed $2.6 million from First Hawaiian Bank to acquire the land and sell back the homes to about 300 tenants at $95,000 to $100,000, or half the market value. The tenants had lived in the homes for decades.

According to Savio, Poamoho Camp is the first plantation camp where tenants succeeded in buying and staying in their homes. "We didn’t displace a single person," he said. Other plantation camps, like Kahuku and Ewa camps, were not successful in the conversion. "It’s not an easy process if everybody doesn’t work together. It only works if everybody works together," he said.

Savio informally spoke with Grove Farm officials after Thursday’s community meeting. "If the landowner and the county are willing to work together, we should be able to do this deal," said Savio.

Grove Farm Senior Vice President Michael Tresler declined to comment.

Kepa Kruse, who was born and raised in Koloa Camp, said, "I know a lot of the residents are grateful that somebody with experience in this situation has stepped forward and offered to help."