EB-5 Services

Hawaii Economic Investment Center, LLC (HEIC) has been established to participate in the EB-5 Program pursuant to Section 203(b)(5) of the INA, as amended, in order to promote economic growth and facilitate investment within the state of Hawaii, and otherwise throughout the U.S. The managers of HEIC are Dr. Joseph Penbera, Chairman and Michael Penbera, Executive Director.

The HEIC has been approved by USCIS to sponsor projects in various sectors including agricultural, real estate development, alternative energy, and healthcare in Hawaii. HEIC was approved on May 30, 2023, by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (the “USCIS”) to operate as a regional center within the entire State of Hawaii (the “Authorized Region”) and provide certain EB-5 sponsorship and administrative services for projects as required under the Employment-Based Fifth Preference Immigrant Visa Program (the “EB-5 Program”). HEIC’s EB-5 projects will positively impact the economy at the county and state level due to the nature of the industry sectors.

HEIC’s goal is to focus its efforts and foreign investment capital on EB-5 projects that both address the urgent need for economic development in rural areas in the state of Hawaii’s and real need for growth in agriculture, real estate development, healthcare, and alternative energy sectors within the HEIC Region. It is important to point out that all HEIC’s projects will be in Rural areas as designated under the RIA. HEIC’s investment criteria require that a project complements the HEIC Region’s economic strengths, has a long-term effect on the future economic growth and vitality of the region, and mirrors USCIS’s intent to support the growth and development of rural areas located in the State of Hawaii. Helping achieve their goals to grow the tourism industry and further advance efforts for food independence through capital investment is also a focus of the HEIC and local project companies.

The HEIC geographic region includes Hawaii, Kauai, Honolulu, Maui, and Kalawao County counties (the “HEIC Region”), and, therefore, encompasses the entire state of Hawaii.

The Project

The Kainani Above Keauhou Bay Project consists of the construction of a residential condominium complex in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i. The project will encompass up to $24 million in EB-5 funding, and it is contemplated that there will be a second phase for an additional 60 investors. The Project will feature 120 two-story, 2–4-bedroom townhomes averaging approximately 1,700 sf, each with large lanais and attached one car garages. The Project also includes construction of resident amenities including swimming pools, two resident clubhouses, a gym, and a pickleball pavilion.

Project Location

The Project is located at 78-6957 Kamehameha III Road, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 (which may be referred to as the “Project Site” or “Subject Property”). The Subject Property is located in within Hawai’i County.

Job Creating Entity

WCD Keauhou, LLC is the Job Creating Entity which will borrow EB-5 funding to develop, own, and operate the Project. WCD Keauhou, LLC is referred to as the “JCE” throughout this business plan. The JCE is managed by Watt Capital Developers, Inc (the “Developer”).

New Commercial Enterprises

Beyond Paradise 1, LLC is the New Commercial Enterprise in which the foreign investors will invest for the purpose of financing a job-creating project.

HEIC Owner & Managing Member:

Dr. Joseph J. Penbera. Ph.D., American U; MPA, Baruch School, CUNY; BA. Rutgers; Postgraduate: Senior Finance, Harvard, and Computer Applications, MIT/Bowdoin.

Dr. Penbera has been working in the EB-5 field since 2001, having helped to create EB-5 regional investment centers in California, Texas, and Florida. He has written professional opinions relating to regional economic analysis and job creation, testified at the U.S. Congress about investment benefits in targeted employment areas, and authored “A Comparative Analysis of IMPLAN and RIMS II Econometric Modeling of Job Creation and Capital Investment as Applied to EB-5 Investment Projects”, Global Finance Association, Innovative Capital Track, May 2012. Dr. Penbera is known for his commitment to regional job creation and project development in targeted employment areas and, particularly, in rural areas. He began his career as Director, Agro-Industrial Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School in Washington, D.C, and, then, founded and served as President of the Network of Organization, Agriculture and Human Resources under international agency funding. He served as Dean, Craig School of Business and Professor at California State University, Fresno. He has authored rural county economic profiles, a comprehensive regional Statistical Abstract, job studies, and population forecasts, among others. He was appointed Eaton Fellow in the Futures Institute, the first think tank in the CSU system. He has aided the Rural Alliance on EB-5 matters of importance to rural investment centers.

Dr. Penbera was appointed Senior Fulbright Scholar in Economics and has been identified by Knight Kiplinger, editor of The Kiplinger Letter, as one of the best forecast economists in the nation. At the USDA Graduate School, he also was the program leader for the Technology Forecasting and Futures Programs serving NASA, NSF, other federal agencies, and directed training programs funded by the USAID, and coordinated with The World Bank, and other international agencies. Dr. Penbera authored one of the first referred journal articles on the “Economics of E-Commerce” and co-authored a Bookwatch Bestseller. He has served as a Director of Rug Doctor (ACAS-NYSE), and Vendo (part of Sanden), and as a consultant to NBC and The White House Consortium of Cabinet-Level Agencies, among others. He is the recipient of the ORMASZ Medal (Poland) and the Paul Harris Medal (Rotary). His work as an economist has been used in matters before the U.S. courts at all levels, including Federal courts.

Dr. Penbera has had a more than a two-decade commitment to the EB-5 Program. He has assisted other EB-5 regional centers in California, Texas, and Florida. In 2009, he founded the highly successful California Energy Investment Center, LLC (“CEIC”). He has provided professional opinion letters relating to EB-5 applications for investors from all over the world. He has been cited by media channels as an authoritative source for analysis and opinion on economic issues. In 2017, he was named one of the best economists in the world by the Invest in the U.S. Summit in Shenzhen, China.