Bid opening a non-event… no bids
Hilo, Hawaii – Video by David Corrigan
There are no buyers for the county’s Hamakua land sale… at least, not yet.
The county hoped to sell 6 of the 16 parcels in Paauilo on Wednesday, for at least $2 million. But, the bid openings scheduled to take place at the county building never happened, because there were no bidding buyers.
Instead, County Finance Director Nancy Crawford and Property Manager Ken Van Bergen stood before a table of real estate information and answered questions from media.
The sale of the Hamakua lands has been cloaked in controversy for years. Most recently, an administration effort to balance the county budget with proceeds from the land sale drew public outcry, and native Hawaiian intervention cast the land title under a cloud.
The county is continuing to advertise the sale, and hopes to sell the land parcels by the May 24 “catch-all” auction.
