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The fifth-richest person in the world, who already owns most of the homes on Hawaii’s sixth-largest island, plans to build an unusual group of new residences on Lanai.
A company affiliated with tech billionaire Larry Ellison intends to develop five estates on roughly 2-acre coastal lots once intended for sale as custom vacation homesites in the Manele resort area.
What’s envisioned now, however, is a curious collection of dwellings.
A representative of Pulama Lanai, Ellison’s management company for the island and the project manager for the housing project, would only say the project is a custom-home development by a private owner.
Property records show the owner of the five lots is Lanai Estates LLC, a firm managed by Paul Marinelli, a longtime executive of an Ellison investment firm.
According to plans submitted to the Maui County Urban Design Review Board, all the homes feature detached three-car garages containing a stairway and an industrial elevator that connect to extensive basements in each home via a subterranean passageway.
Each home also includes a separate utility building of at least 1,000 square feet with emergency backup battery power, a backup diesel generator, propane storage and a trash room.
One of the utility buildings includes an office for security and support staff along with two restrooms, a staff breakroom and a laundry room.
Living areas for the homes range from 6,189 square feet to 13,330 square feet with two or three bedrooms.
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The largest residence is a two-bedroom abode with 11,541 square feet of living space separate from a 1,789-square-foot home theater with a restroom in another building. A pool, lap pool, koi pond and Japanese-style spa are also features of the home’s design.
Several Lanai residents said they hadn’t heard about the project or aren’t sure what to make of it.
Robin Kaye, one longtime resident, said Ellison has yet to build a home for himself on the island.
“It strikes me that he’s building a family compound,” Kaye said, adding the plans don’t bother him.
Resort homes
The five lots intended for development are part of an existing resort housing subdivision called Kaluako‘i Estates created by Lanai’s former owner, Castle & Cooke Inc.
Castle & Cooke, which developed two luxury hotels and a pair of golf courses on the island in the early 1990s after shutting down what had once been the world’s largest pineapple plantation, created Kaluako‘i Estates as seven lots between the 18th hole of the Manele golf course and a rocky cliffside that includes Kaluako‘i Point overlooking the ocean.
The lots were priced from around $5 million. Only two sold. These two are owned by venture capital firm partner Peter Mills, who bought the lots for a combined $14 million and in 2001 built a home valued at $6 million for property tax purposes.
Castle & Cooke, led by billionaire David Murdock, obtained permission to develop 460 homes at Manele and 640 at the upcountry resort area of Koele near Lanai City.
Resort home sales were intended to be the financial linchpin that supported Murdock’s investment in the island after pineapple, but that didn’t pan out. Instead, a weak market for resort homes on Lanai became one factor for Murdock selling his 98% stake in the island to Ellison in 2012 for a reported $300 million.
According to a 2016 Lanai Community Plan, only about 9% of homes in the two resort areas have been built — roughly 80 at Manele and 40 at Koele.
Ellison’s plans
Ellison, who co-founded software firm Oracle Corp. and has a net worth pegged by Forbes at $72 billion, has said his vision for Lanai is a “model for sustainable enterprise” that diversifies and expands the economy.
So far, Ellison has focused much of his effort revamping the two luxury hotels with a combined $150 million in changes geared toward wealthier travelers. He has also invested substantially in community projects that include expanded health-care facilities, historic building restorations, natural resource enhancements and improvements to the local theater and community pool.
Ellison also established a hydroponic farm selling produce on the island.
Future plans include expanding the airport, developing an industrial park, building an observatory for stargazing at Manele, creating an amphitheater at Manele and adding 546 acres to triple the size of Lanai City to accommodate more housing, a university campus, film studios and a tennis academy.
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