Maui developer Everett Dowling, luxury hotel owner Trinity Investments and Morgan Stanley Real Estate are buying the Makena Resort on Maui and the upscale Maui Prince Hotel.

The group agreed to pay Japan-based Seibu Group $575 million for the 1,800-acre property, which includes the 310-room Maui Prince, two 18-hole Robert Trent Jones, Jr. golf courses, and 1,300 acres of undeveloped land.

The deal is set to close on March 27.

"The $575 million purchase price reflects the location and potential of Makena," said Donn Takahashi, president of Prince Resorts Hawaii, which operates Makena Resort for the Seibu Group.

"From the outset of the sales process, there was strong and steady interest in the property."

The new owners said they will retain all of the resort's union employees.

Dowling, a former Castle & Cooke Inc. executive, built Maui's first privately developed public school and developed four housing projects for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Trinity Investments, whose partners include Jon Miho and hotel executive Chuck Sweeney, owns and operates The Kahala Hotel & Resort and operated the Kea Lani Hotel on Maui.

The sale does not affect Seibu's remaining properties in Hawai'i, which include Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel and the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki.