Failed development on Kauaʻi’s south shore leads to bankruptcy auction of 25-acre property

California-based Kupono Resort LLC had big plans to develop a luxury resort and wellness center on Kauaʻi’s south shore. But the $227 million project called The Ohia, with an 84-room boutique hotel, a spa and 115 residential units, never broke ground.

Now, the 25-acre vacant property that Kupono Resort purchased in 2021 for the first phase of the project is available to buy in a bankruptcy auction. Bids for the property — located on a former sugar cane plantation with ocean and mountain views in the Kukui’ula subdivision in Kōloa —are due by 2 p.m. HST on April 13.

“The combination of scale, location and prestige places this offering in a class of its own,” said Stephen Madura, senior director at Hilco Global in a press release. “Opportunities of this caliber on Kauaʻi’s south shore are extraordinarily limited and should attract interest from investors and developers the world over.”

The sale is subject to bankruptcy court approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaiʻi.

The press release also said the property was located next to one of the islandʻs “most prestigious and thoughtfully planned resort communities.” It is between The Kukuiula Golf Course and The Shops at Kukuiula, and near Poipu Beach.

Kupono Resort purchased the property from the Kukuiula joint venture between Alexander & Baldwin and Arizona-based DMB Associates, with an option to purchase 17 more acres for the second phase.

Kupono Resort originally had planned to develop the first phase, which included the hotel and 65 of the residential units, by fall of 2023.

Jeffrey J and Elizabeth A. Koch, trustees of the J&E Koch Revocable Trust, originally filed a foreclosure complaint in July 2025 in the Fifth Circuit Court on Kauaʻi, alleging Kupono Resort defaulted on a $5 million mortgage and interest due on the property that originally was supposed to be repaid on Dec. 31, 2022.

The complaint detailed a series of loan extensions beginning in 2022, with the last scheduled repayment date set for Dec. 31, 2025, and claimed unpaid principal, interest and fees of more than $5.3 million as of late July.

J&E Koch Revocable Trust sought foreclosure of the mortgage and sale of the property if the default was not cured, including appointment of a commissioner to manage the sale and distribution of proceeds, and a deficiency judgment if applicable.

Before any answer, motion or trial date was set, Kupono Resort filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition on July 28 under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii in Honolulu. The company reported $10 million to $50 million in both assets and liabilities.

The case was converted to Chapter 7 liquidation on Oct. 27, with a trustee appointed to oversee the estate.