Bio-Logical Capital LLC bought Hāna Ranch for about $9 million less than a decade ago, and the Colorado company recently put it on the market for $75 million.
Hāna Ranch, which includes a working cattle ranch and diversified orchards, comprises 37 separate parcels totaling roughly 3,600 acres in East Maui.
The property is the largest offering on Maui, and “one of the last pristine landscapes left in Hawai’i,” according to listing agent Dan Omer of Island Sotheby’s International Realty.
The listing was first reported by The Wall Street Journal in a story highlighting that the massive ranch sits next to Oprah’s land in East Maui.
Two Hāna Ranch parcels neighbor Oprah’s 102-acre coastline property. The celebrity’s Kingdom Come LLC purchased the undeveloped parcel from Hāna Ranch Partners for nearly $12 million in 2002, according to county records.
Bio-Logical Capital acquired Hāna Ranch for nearly $9 million in 2014, according to the company. Before that, the ranch changed hands several times.
Over the years, Bio-Logical Capital invested $17 million in cattle ranch and sustainable agriculture operations, it said. Now, Hāna Ranch has 1,000 grass-fed cattle and seven acres of organic orchards with breadfruit, banana, citrus and papaya.
When asked why the ranch is up for sale, Bio-Logical Capital said its goal has been accomplished.
“Over the past eight years, we have accomplished our goal of transitioning the ranch to a more regenerative form of livestock operation, planting orchards and incorporating silvopastures, which is a technique we use to graze the land today,” Grant McCargo, Bio-Logical Capital founder and CEO, said in a statement. “We now wish to transition Hāna Ranch to a new conservation-minded steward who will continue the ranch’s efforts to advance sustainable agriculture.”
Bio-Logical Capital announced its intention to sell Hāna Ranch in May with a press release saying owners are seeking a conservation-minded steward to “preserve the land’s agricultural legacy and protect the property’s historic ranching tradition in perpetuity.”
Island Sotheby’s International Realty’s June 21 listing said the Hāna Ranch property offers an “extraordinary opportunity for the creation of a private and secluded legacy estate, with the additional opportunity to preserve this pristine landscape with conservation easements, providing significant potential tax benefits to the owner.”
Scott Crawford of Hāna-based nonprofit community organization Ke Ao Hāliʻi said he hopes the ranch land goes the right buyer.
“We hope it goes to a conservation minded entity who will manage it consistent with the values of the Hāna community,” he said via email this week.
In announcing the intent to sell, Bio-Logical Capital said it wants to gift 15 acres of land to the County of Maui for an affordable housing project. The company also offered to “share our expertise in master-planning to fulfill this commitment to the community.”
Mayor Michael Victorino in a statement this week said he looks forward to discussing the proposal.
“I certainly appreciate Bio-Logical Capital LLC’s offer to convey six parcels to Maui County for the development of affordable housing in Hana, plus additional funding for planning and advisory services,” he said. “Hāna is a small, isolated community, and my administration is very supportive of affordable housing there. We look forward to exploring this offer further.”
Bio-Logical Capital clarified that the parcels slated for donation aren’t part of the Hāna Ranch sale. The proposed affordable housing land is located between Pāʻani Mai Park and the fire station on the makai side of Hāna Highway, according to the company.
Maui County Council recently passed a resolution requesting that the mayor enter negotiations on the potential land donation, Bio-Logical Capital said.
“We look forward to beginning discussions soon,” McCargo said.
