Recently, lot owners at Ka‘anapali Coffee Farms received a welcome check in the mail - the return of approximately 50 percent of their Lot Owner's Association fees paid for the past fiscal year. This reimbursement to property owners is the result of a unique farm-residential concept that is setting a benchmark for agricultural residential communities in the State of Hawaii.

When landowner Kaanapali Land Management Corp. first launched their more than 300-acre Ka‘anapali Coffee Farms project back in 2006, they unveiled a unique concept that would seamlessly blend a working coffee farm with a master-planned residential community in West Maui. Today, their vision is paying off.

Buyers can now purchase and build a home within spectacular 4- to 7-acre estate lots of mature, coffee producing trees. Experienced coffee managers oversee the coffee farming operations, from the flowering through harvesting, offering homeowners the opportunity to experience the essence of farming without the distractions of daily farm management.

As an added perk, Ka‘anapali Coffee Farms' lot owners also have the opportunity to reduce the level of association fees if strong coffee revenues can be achieved. This year, owners received a return of $5,000 per lot for fees paid during the past fiscal year, which ended August 2012.

Under the MauiGrown Coffee brand, the coffee operation has continued to thrive. The 2011-2012 season saw a record coffee harvest of over 200,000 pounds of green coffee and an increase in sales revenue exceeding 40% over the prior year. Their 100% MAUI Origin coffee can be found on the shelves of boutique roasters all across the U.S. Mainland, as well as Canada, Japan, and Korea. The coffee farm workers and coffee production team continue to take great pride in growing and processing a specialty coffee product that has grown in reputation and demand, while at the same time striving to be as efficient and cost effective as possible.

"We are very optimistic over this year's coming harvest and anticipate another high yield," said Kimo Falconer, president of MauiGrown Coffee Distributors. "We've continued to grow our MauiGrown Coffee brand and are passionate about cultivating our four coffee varieties to produce an exceptional cup of coffee."

For Ka‘anapali Coffee Farms' lot owners, this unique farm-residential concept is a win-win situation.

"We were attracted to this coffee farm community because it gave us the space we desired for our lifestyle among the beauty of the coffee orchards and the green hillsides," said Ka‘anapali Coffee Farms homeowner Lyn Muegge. "The farming operation gave us the unique opportunity to own a beautiful place to live and to help keep the land under cultivation with a viable Maui crop. Receiving a refund of half our association fees was an added bonus and totally unexpected!"