Proposed Deal Could Mean Acreage Switch-Up for Dole
WAHIAWA, OAHU – There is a new proposal in the Hawaii State Legislature that would have Dole Food Company trade thousands of acres of former pineapple land for the Oahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) site in Kalihi.
Hawaii News Now reports that under this proposed land swap, Dole would give the state a parcel of over 15,000 acres of former pineapple fields that the company planned to sell for nearly $185 million in exchange for the 11-acre OCCC site in Haliki, which is located along the rail transit line. The state would then rent that new land to farmers.
“The idea here is to get more ag lands so we can provide farmers long-term leases, so that they can make the investments possible to have really a long-term future in ag,” Wahiawa State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz told Hawaii News Now.
As part of the trade, Dela Cruz also wants the state to give Dole Food Company other state-owned land along the rail route that has enough values so that the company would pay for a badly needed new prison in Halawa.
“What this enables the state to do is get a new prison without spending any dollars, any cash or any CIP, and we can exchange the additional value of land to achieve that,” Dela Cruz added.
Sources tell Hawaii News Now that there have been high-level talks among state government officials about parts of the deal, but that it is a work in progress that is far from agreed upon.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to track this developing story.
