Let’s buy the North Shore!

Well, this is interesting.

Governor Linda Lingle is proposing that the state purchase the Turtle Bay hotel and condominium.

The governor announced the idea of buying the 850-acre North Shore of Oahu property in her sixth state of the state address this morning. Lingle said, “It would be naïve for anyone to think this land acquisition will be easy.” She’s right. Financing the purchase will take some fiscal creativity.

The resort’s owner Kuilima Resort Co., an affiliate of Los Angeles, Calif.-based global investment firm Oaktree Capital Management LLC, wants to build a mixture of hotels and condominiums along undeveloped Turtle Bay beach land. The plan would add 3,500 units to the currently 500-room resort. Protests from the north shore community and lawsuits have stalled the project.

“I believe this is a once-in-a-generation chance to preserve both a lifestyle for thousands of residents and a part of Hawaii that millions the world over have come to love and identify a the real Hawaii,” said Lingle in her address. “The purchase of this important property will create an opportunity for the community to shape a vision for this part of the North Shore.”