Lanai City is a census-designated place on the island of Lanai, in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,102 at the 2010 census. Lanai City is the island's commercial center. Many of the island's restaurants and shops are in the town square that surrounds Dole Park, and the only hospital on the island, Lanai Community Hospital, is located near the park. Lanai City is served by Lanai Airport.
Lanai was once the home of the pineapple plantation of entrepreneur James Drummond Dole, which spanned over and employed thousands of workers. Dole owned the entire island for a time, and in the 1920s built Lanai City to house and serve the community of workers. It was the first model city in Hawaii. In 1923 several stores, a bank, a hospital, a theater, a church and business headquarters were built around an open park space. In 1930 model homes for couples featuring two bedrooms, a large living room, a kitchen, with running water, electricity and spacious yards were erected. The single men's houses had three furnished rooms and also running water and electricity. In 2009, the corporation Castle & Cooke, which owns the Dole Food Company, announced its intent to demolish much of what remained of the historic district, including homes, a laundromat, and a jailhouse—all dating back to the 1920s—in order to build new commercial structures. The development would have included a supermarket described by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as "oversized" and "out-of-scale". The intact plantation town is something not found on any of the other Hawaiian Islands. However, in June 2012, Castle & Cooke sold its island possessions to billionaire Larry Ellison for $300 million.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,164 people, 1,148 households, and 796 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 885.5 people per square mile. There were 1,343 housing units at an average density of 375.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 13.24% White, 0.13% African American, 0.38% Native American, 58.09% Asian, 7.02% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 20.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.74% of the population. There were 1,148 households, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couplesliving together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.33. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,271, and the median income for a family was $49,209. Males had a median income of $29,800 versus $27,065 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,668. About 8.5% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.
Urban infrastructure
Lanai City boasts a community hospital, a community health center, an olympic-size public pool, a state-of-the art movie theater, a supermarket and a public library.
