Condo to break ground in Kona

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

KAILUA, Hawai'i — Construction of Kona's $80 million Hualalai Village project is due to start in January at University of The Nations, a Christian school.

The first 43 units of the 400-unit condominium project should be occupied by July, officials said, with additional units opened by the end of the year. The site is near Hualalai Road and Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway, south of Kailua village.

The developer, UofNBencorp, is led by Mark Spengler of Kona, who left his post as the school's vice president and assistant for legal and government affairs to pursue the residential project, which has nonprofit status as an arm of the university.

Seven floor plans will be offered, ranging from $164,000 to more than $500,000, Spengler said. Buyers need not be connected to the university, but he expects many will be parents of students or have some relationship with the institution.

University of The Nations began in 1978 as Pacific and Asia Christian University under the international, interdenominational Christian group Youth With a Mission. According to its mission statement, the school prepares "servant leaders" to demonstrate God's ways in service throughout society.

The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. Officials said the school has not sought accreditation because of its unique goals and programs. Students are required to study on at least two continents. Three-month terms alternate between classroom instruction and field assignments.

University of The Nations has 16,000 students in almost 90 countries. About 1,200 study at the 45-acre Kona campus, where they are required to live.

Construction of a sports complex and Pacific cultural center also is planned.