Kea'au to Pahoa

Just as we did on the page dealing with subdivisions near to and heading down the highway from Volcano, let's start by talking a little about Kea'au.

Kea'au is a nice little town that's very convenient to Hilo. The new Kamehameha School has just been built near Kea'au (at great expense, I might add). For non-native Hawaiian children, there's also a brand-new multi-million dollar high school. There's good shopping in Kea'au in the shopping center there and some excellent restaurants.

The first subdivision on our journey from Kea'au to Pahoa is Hawaiian Paradise Park. Hawaiian Paradise Park, or "HPP" as everyone abbreviates it, is in many ways the "bedroom community" of Hilo. Its a large subdivision that's very popular with working people that need to commute to Hilo. Its mostly one acre lots, although right down near the ocean (on Kaloli Point), they are only 1/2 acre lots. There are some beautiful places and homes in HPP, especially down close to the ocean. There's not much ocean access there, but there are a couple of spots.

Across the highway from HPP is Orchidland. Orchidland has a mix of one, two and three acre parcels. Orchidland is actively working to improve their roads and that should really help the values in that area. Its convenient to Hilo and is a really up-and-coming area.

Just Pahoa-side of Orchidland is Tiki Gardens. Tiki Gardens has smaller (7,000 to 8,500 square foot lots). You can still find some good deals in Tiki Gardens and some nice older homes.

Ainaloa is just across from Tiki Gardens (across Ainaloa Boulevard). The lots are little larger (12,000 square feet) and most of the roads are pretty good in Ainaloa.

We have to talk about Hawaiian Beaches, Hawaiian Shores and Hawaiian Parks all together because the lines between them are fuzzy at best. They are close to Pahoa, and there are technically four subdivisions all throughout there -- Hawaiian Beaches, Hawaiian Parks, Hawaiian Shores and Hawaiian Shores Recreation Estates. Of the four, only one of them has a really active community association, as far as I can see -- Hawaiian Shores Recreation Estates. Hawaiian Shores Recreation Estates has a community center with pool, tennis courts, barbeque pits, and pavilions. The lots in all four are in the range of 8,000 to 15,000 square feet and some near the ocean have great views. There's a couple of oceanfront park areas down in these subdivisions, but its mostly cliffs over the ocean and not easy ocean access.