Tax-free bonds approved by lawmakers for ‘mystery’ Hawaii Kai senior-living project

Hawaii lawmakers earlier this year agreed to help arrange up to half a billion dollars in financing for a planned retirement community despite not knowing where exactly the project would be and who is driving it.

In a near-unanimous approval, the Legislature allowed a recently formed nonprofit to issue up to $500 million in tax-exempt special purpose revenue bonds to develop a 366-unit senior­-living community somewhere in Hawaii Kai.

But beyond that, little information has been released by Luana Kai — A Life Plan Community, which business records show was formed in October.

The development firm’s written testimony didn’t identify any principals of the company other than saying one of its partners was involved with producing the Kahala Nui retirement complex nearly 20 years ago.

Sen. Stanley Chang, who represents Hawaii Kai and chairs a committee that approved the bill to authorize the bonds, said he understood the nonprofit is represented by former state lawmaker Blake Oshiro, who was deputy chief of staff to Gov. Neil Abercrombie and now works for local lobbying firm Capitol Consultants of Hawaii.

Rep. Gene Ward, who represents Hawaii Kai and voted against the funding bill, said he couldn’t support what to him amounted to blank-check financing for a mystery project.

“All I know is the name of the LLC (Luana Kai) but have no idea who the owners or backers are,” Ward said in an email.

A lawyer who registered the nonprofit to do business in Hawaii did not respond to a request to provide contact information for a company principal.

A slightly different trade name, Luana Kai — A Retirement Community, was once registered by Hawaii Village Associates Inc. led by Nancy Schoocraft, who in 2003 planned to use special purpose revenue bonds to develop a 40-acre retirement campus with 850 residential units in Kapolei on land leased from Campbell Estate.

The plan for the Kapolei project, called Luana Koa, fizzled, and another developer produced fewer senior-living units mixed with other uses, including retail and two hotels on the site.

At Tuesday’s Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board meeting, board Chairwoman Roberta Mayor said she received an email from local public relations firm Comm­Pac explaining that the new Luana Kai could not provide information about a specific location or other details until the company has an agreement.

The CommPac statement also included a comment from Kamehameha Schools, which owns much land in Hawaii Kai, saying the trust was approached by a party pursuing a senior-living project and that discussions are still preliminary.

“No decisions or legally binding agreements exist and updates will be shared with the community as details develop,” the trust statement said.

CommPac’s email also said more details would be shared with the neighborhood board, elected officials and the community at large once an agreement is executed.

Some board members and Hawaii Kai residents called the developer’s actions secretive and disturbing.

“I just wonder what they’re trying to hide,” board member Natalie Iwasa said at the meeting.

Iwasa said she hopes Gov. David Ige vetoes the funding bill, House Bill 869, and noted that CommPac’s email clarified that the nonprofit is awaiting a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service to certify it deserves a nonprofit tax status.

“They should start over,” she said.

Several board members noted there isn’t much undeveloped land in Hawaii Kai zoned for a residential project as large as what Luana Kai plans, leading them to believe the developer will seek to up-zone land currently zoned for preservation or other nonresidential uses.

“Everyone’s trying to figure out where they can put a 360-unit development,” board member Greg Knudsen said at the meeting.

Knudsen speculated that potential project sites owned by Kamehameha Schools could be Kalama Village Shopping Center, a par-3 golf course inland of the Ka Iwi coast or even the “great lawn” fronting Maunalua Bay where a retail complex plan was derailed and carnivals are occasionally held.

Kamehameha Schools also owns farmland in Kamilonui Valley where area residents previously opposed a residential subdivision plan.

Special purpose revenue bonds are something lawmakers can authorize for private projects that have a public benefit and are within a few allowed industries that include agriculture, health care and nonprofit schools.

Such bonds provide a form of tax-free financing that is cheaper than commercial lending, and the obligation to repay investors who buy the bonds rests solely with the private entity and not the state.

Private projects that have tapped such financing include Hawaii Pacific University, electric power generation plants, a coffee farm, a cacao processing facility and the Kahala Nui retirement community.

Kahala Nui’s developers sold $142 million in special purpose bonds through the state for the six-story project with 392 units on 7 acres in Kahala.

Luana Kai indicated to lawmakers that they intend to seek $20 million to $25 million in “early” tax-exempt financing to pay for architectural work, development activities and marketing to seniors.

The company also said that market research shows Hawaii Kai, which has one independent and assisted senior-living community, lacks sufficient senior housing options.

Luana Kai told lawmakers its preliminary plan calls for 260 independent-living apartments, 40 assisted-living apartments, 30 memory­-care apartments and 36 skilled-nursing suites.

“Luana Kai will provide housing in an attractive and upscale design, with green spaces and community connections,” the company said in its written testimony. “The developers envision commercial businesses at the ground level open to the neighborhood, including a possible medical clinic, coffee house, etc.”