A new development on Hawaii’s Big Island is using one of the world’s biggest sports stars to try and gin up interest from prospective buyers.
Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese superstar for the Los Angeles Dodgers, will have the first home in a new luxury community called “the Vista,” a gated community on the property of the Mauna Kea Resort, according to multiple reports.
Ohtani will have one of the 14 single-family mansion sites on the development, with Hawaii News Now reporting that 12 were still available for purchase as of April 19. The development’s website lists the starting price for each home at $17 million, but allows for four families to arrange a co-ownership for as low as $4.75 million each. According to local station KHON-TV, Ohtani visited the location about 18 months ago, when he was still a member of the Los Angeles Angels, and picked his lot — Lot 7.
Reports conflicted on how much or even whether Ohtani paid for his lot, with Hawaii News Now saying Ohtani reportedly paid more than $17 million. But the Wall Street Journal reported that “it is unclear how much, if anything, Ohtani paid for his land,” adding that the developers incentivized Ohtani to pick their property by giving him first choice of lots and likening the move to a “name, image and likeness” deal.
Ohtani sent statements to multiple media outlets covering the purchase, saying the location will be “my own paradise.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Ohtani rents his home in Los Angeles and has an apartment in Tokyo, but will spend his offseasons in Hawaii once this home is completed.
A crescent-shaped sandy beach in front of Mauna Kea Hotel, a popular luxury resort on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii.
Located near the northern tip of the Big Island, the Mauna Kea Resort was the first resort opened on the Big Island in 1965 and was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America list in 2016. Originally built by Laurance S. Rockefeller, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is now part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection chain of hotels.
According to Architectural Digest, the entire Hapuna Estates site, which includes the Vista, will take up 34 acres of land from the Mauna Kea Resort, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that, in addition to the subdivision with 14 mansions, there will also be duplex condos available for around $4 million to $6 million.
Ohtani has been in the news frequently since he chose to sign a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers over the San Francisco Giants and other MLB pursuers this offseason. His unusual contract is deferring $680 million of that deal for 10 years, meaning Ohtani’s current salary is only $2 million.
The two-way star has also been the subject of a massive gambling scandal involving his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who was arrested earlier this month by federal authorities on allegations that he stole more than $16 million from Ohtani and used the money to gamble on sports. According to the Department of Justice, Mizuhara could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of felony bank fraud.
