Heirs to the estate of George Galbraith, who faced a situation similar to that depicted in the 2011 film
The Descendants,
have agreed to sell a 1,750-acre tract of land on the Hawaiian island of Oahu to the state for preservation as farmland,
the
Wall Street Journal
reported.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Galbraith immigrated to Hawaii from Ireland in and acquired the land in the 19th century. The tract, a former pineapple plantation, was one of the largest undeveloped plots on Oahu, the
Journal
article said. About 600 heirs owned the land, and Bank of Hawaii managed the estate in trust, the article said. Developers had been courting the heirs for years, according to the report.
The trustee began dissolving the estate in 2007 to meet a state deadline, signing a contract with a real-estate developer for $40 million to build homes on the land.
The recession sidetracked that plan and, in 2011, the trustee agreed to sell the land to Hawaii for $25 million for conservation into many small farms….
The state plans to lease the land to farmers, the report noted.
Beneficiary Ian Lind told the
Journal
that some of the heirs are upset that the trustee didn’t allow for them to receive land instead of money, and others wanted to sell to developers, which would have netted them more money. Lind told the
Journal
he supports the sale to the state. “All things considered, this takes into account the beneficiaries; interest and the public’s interest,” he said. (Source:
Wall Street Journal,
Nov. 19, 2012.)
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