Posted on: Friday, December 24, 2004

Developers buy Makaha golf course

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Ko Olina Resort & Marina master developer Jeff Stone has bought Makaha Valley Country Club with an investment group.

West Honolulu Investments LLC, led by Stone, purchased the 18-hole golf course for an undisclosed price estimated to be at least $4 million from Nitto Hawaii Co. Ltd., an affiliate of financially troubled Japan-based golf operator Nitto Kogyo Co. Ltd.

The entire staff of about 50 employees at the course are being retained by the purchaser, who assumed operations yesterday.

No immediate improvements are planned to the course that attracts mostly kama'aina play, though the club could become an amenity for Ko Olina guests in the future, according to a Ko Olina representative.

"We've always believed that Makaha Valley had great potential to be an economic foundation for local residents and the leeward coast in general," Stone said in a statement.

Stone had made a bid at buying the course, commonly known as Makaha-East, last year as part of a plan that included acquiring the neighboring course and hotel, Makaha Resort Golf Club.

That deal fell through, and Makaha Resort was bought earlier this year by Canada-based hotel and time-share operator Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd.

The two courses were developed in the late 1960s by Hawai'i financier Chinn Ho, who sold Makaha-East and surrounding property to Nitto Kogyo in 1982 for $6.5 million.

In December 2001, Goldman Sachs Group acquired Nitto Kogyo, which owned 30 golf courses in Japan and was burdened with debt. The golf operator sought court protection from creditors and had been trying to restructure its finances.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.