A Texas real estate development firm active in Hawaii has positioned itself to take over unsold pieces of a luxury home subdivision on the Big Island started by former HBO Chief Executive Michael Fuchs.

An affiliate of El Paso, Texas-based Hunt Cos. has agreed to buy the mortgage on the property from three local lenders that were foreclosing against the firm set up by Fuchs to develop the project at Mauna Lani Resort called Ke Kailani.

A foreclosure auction that had been scheduled for today in Honolulu has been rescheduled for Jan. 6, though the deal to buy the mortgage is scheduled to close Nov. 30, according to George Van Buren, a local attorney serving as foreclosure commissioner in the case.

Typically, investors buying a troubled mortgage aim to acquire the property tied to the mortgage either by proceeding with foreclosure or striking a deal with the borrower to acquire the real estate.

Representatives of Hunt, which is acquiring the mortgage through subsidiary Hawaii Renaissance Builders LLC, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The property under foreclosure comprises 25 single-family home lots, land planned for eight condominium units and two completed condo units.

Fourteen single-family home lots and two condos previously sold by Fuchs’ development firm in the 51-unit subdivision are not involved in the foreclosure.

Ke Kailani was envisioned by Fuchs nearly a decade ago and arose out of his search to create a private oceanfront estate for himself.

A 65-acre parcel largely fronting three golf fairways of Mauna Lani’s South Course caught Fuchs’ eye, and developing other lots for sale became the plan led by local real estate development veteran Will Beaton to help pay for the hefty cost of the land and infrastructure.

Fuchs paid $15.5 million for the parcel in June 2002, according to property records, and he had early success with sales, including one oceanfront lot that went for $8.5 million in 2005 and two condos that went for close to $4 million each in 2007.

Features of Ke Kailani included a community clubhouse with a saltwater pool overlooking the ocean; condo kitchens designed by Hawaii celebrity chef Alan Wong; and a 5.5-acre inland park with a freshwater pond, pools, a hula mound, jogging trail, and courts for basketball, tennis and sand volleyball.

In all, Fuchs sold 14 lots and two condos for a combined $38 million, according to property records.

But the economic recession that dramatically stifled sales of Hawaii vacation homes caught up with Ke Kailani and stymied the estimated $100 million project.

Local lenders Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank and Finance Factors Ltd. filed a foreclosure lawsuit last year, claiming that Fuchs defaulted on $52 million in loans that matured in 2008.

The lenders said in the suit that they were owed $22.2 million in principal on the loans as of Oct. 1, 2009.

Hunt Cos. is a diverse real estate development firm that in Hawaii has been involved mainly with military housing privatization projects. The company also has pursued residential development in Kakaako, and aborted plans to help the University of Hawaii develop its West Oahu campus.