Historic, cherished Kōke’e cabins auctioned to new lease-holders

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Seven cabins in Kōkeʻe and Waimea Canyon State Parks have new, ecstatic lease-holders after being auctioned off on Thursday.

A total of 130 Kaua‘i residents attended the auction, some waiting more than an hour to get inside the venue.

While only seven cabins were listed, reports said final bids for each cabin were significantly higher than expected.

The DLNR revealed that six of the seven lots set record prices with three bids more than doubling the highest price at the 2011 auction.

Here’s how it worked. Each cabin was presented on a screen with the minimum bid. The audience would then hold up their numbered cards and outbid one another.

The competition was over when the auctioneer’s hammer fell and the winning bid was announced.

I am grateful that we will be getting these neglected cabins into the hands of good stewards. But honestly, I was a little disheartened that this is the current price of entry into this storied cabin community. I hope this will be proven in the future to be an anomaly based on the immense pent-up demand, but I’ll say this – it proved how incredibly cherished these parklands are for Kauaʻi residents.

DLNR Division of State Parks Assistant Administrator Alan Carpenter

The seven cabins auctioned off on Thursday have been returned to the State over the past ten years with many of them deteriorating.

Necessities such as electricity, internet and water are available, but significant work is still needed to enjoy the cabins.

“While the auction has successfully transitioned these abandoned and dilapidated structures over to members of the community that will repair them and care for them, it also showed that the process of an auction is pushing these cabins well beyond what the vast majority of our community members can ever afford,” said Kōkeʻe Leaseholders Association President Chipper Wichman.

During the second auction in 2011, the annual lease rent ranged between $2,500 to $18,000.

This time around, the opening bid for cabins ranged between $4,500 to $9,500. Reports said the winning bids ranged from $15,500 to $41,000 for the annual rental.