The Ali'i Ranch

This expansive property is 46.57 acres ranging in elevation from 760 feet at the Hokulia Golf Club boundary to the west to 960 feet at the Ali'i Drive boundary to the east. The parcel north of the ranch is privately owned by the Greenwell family as is the land mauka of the ranch and Ali'i drive. The parcel south of the ranch is privately owned by the Coupe family. Makai of the ranch is the Hokulia Golf Club and residential development.

The soil is rich and supports many old growth Monkeypod, Kukui Nut, Fig and Mango trees. It was the only land on the west side of the island of Hawai'i to be planted with sugar cane. The property has been cleared and is covered with "cattle grass" which is maintained by tractors and mower decks.

The ranch was purchased prior to the construction of the "by-pass highway" which connects Ali'i Drive with Napo'opo'o Road. During construction of the highway, the county provided two entrances to the ranch, the first at the northeast corner and the second at the southeast corner. Completion of the highway provided access to real estate previously landlocked. The ranch is 7 minutes from the Keauhou Shopping Center, 5 minutes from the Kona Community Hospital, 7 minutes from Konawaena School and 15 minutes from Kealakekua Bay.

The property is zoned AG-5 meaning it can be ultimately subdivided into 5-acre parcels upon proof of adequate potable water. The 46.57-acre parcel has already been subdivided into two parcels, each with its own TMK and address. The north 25-acre parcel has a cottage, garage, water tank, pickleball court and orchards. The south 21-acre parcel has a gazebo and storage of lava stones, registered TMK 3-8-1-004-097-0000-000 at address 81-7920 Ali'i Drive.

The two-bedroom cottage has approximately 2200 square feet with a wrap-around veranda, a separate two-car garage, storage room and storage bay. The cottage sits at an 850 foot elevation with an ocean view that is unmatched. There is currently no access to electric power from Hawaii Electric, nor is county water currently available. Electricity is supplied from solar panels installed on the garage roof with inverters and battery storage in a storeroom. Behind the garage is a diesel generator which supplies power during periods of low sunlight or battery supply. Water is collected from the roofs of the cottage and garage and stored in a 30,000 gallon metal storage tank. The water is triple filtered for home use. Annual rainfall on the ranch averages 30-40 inches a year.

The ranch lies within the Onouli I and Kalukalu 3 ahuapua'as. The portion within Onouli I was given to Analea Keohokalole by Royal Patent 4356. She was the mother of Queen Lil'uokolani and King David Kalakua. The property was planted with sugar cane in the 1870s to supply the sugar mill located at Wai'aha above the town of Kailua. The Kona Sugar Company operated the mill from 1891 to 1901. In 1901 the company constructed an elevated narrow-guage railroad running 11 miles from its mill to its terminus, just beyond the property's southern boundary. The railroad was subsequently owned by James Castle who formed the Kona Development Company and later the West Hawaii Railroad Company. Operations ceased after the harvest in 1926. The property came under ownership of the Greenwell family and cattle were introduced until it was purchased in 2009.

The ranch perimeter is marked with a natural lava-stone wall, four-feet high by three-feet thick. The dry stack wall system was constructed with stones that were found on the property. The property was walked, inspected and inventoried by an archeaological team which filed their report with the state of Hawai'i. The team identified three historic structures which must be maintained and no discernible burial grounds were found on the property. The sites to be maintained are the railroad roadbed on the western boundary and two ahuapua'a stone boundary walls. The structures have since been repaired. In addition, there are two large-stone loading ramps which were constructed for the pulley and cable transport of sugar from the fields to the railroad. While they were not deemed historical, they have also been repaired.