The state should buy nearly 500 acres of Navy land at Kalaeloa and transform it into a thriving mix of housing, high-technology businesses and other ventures, Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday.

"It's in a great location, and there's a lot of synergy, we feel, out in the area," Lingle said.

A series of parcels at the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station — mostly along Roosevelt Avenue and near the main gate or golf course — would cost an estimated $56 million, she said.

There would be additional costs to upgrade infrastructure, but they might be offset through partnerships with the federal government or private investors, she said.

The 3,700-acre base between Kapolei and 'Ewa Beach closed in 1999. Of the 499 acres for sale, about 400 could be developed, and plans might include new government facilities, she said. But plans and negotiations are very preliminary.

"We feel there are a lot of opportunities to really leverage the investment," she said. " ... We've only begun to scratch the surface of the things that we might do there, but I think a federal partnership with us will move us along much more quickly."

Businesses moving into Kalaeloa would not be eligible for $75 million in unused tax credits that had been set aside to help finance an aquarium at the Ko Olina resort, she said.

The resort dropped the aquarium plan, and Lingle is proposing that the credits be made available to any business that makes capital investments on the Wai'anae Coast.

If the state buys the Kalaeloa land, parcels could be resold, leased or developed in partnership with private investors, according to Ted Liu, head of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

"It opens up all kinds of possibilities, which is what the governor wants to do," he said.

The state and city are planning several major projects in and around Kalaeloa that include Hawaiian Homelands housing, a University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu campus and a mass-transit system to link the area with Downtown Honolulu.

In October, the state also opened a transitional housing shelter in Kalaeloa for about 200 homeless families.

There are no structures on 80 percent of the parcels the state wants to buy, and the area has been zoned for urban growth, said Dan Dinell, executive director of the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, which oversees development on the former base.

"This is a great opportunity to do what HCDA does best — setting the stage for strengthening and diversifying our economy while building upon a culture of innovation," Dinell said.

The cost of infrastructure would depend largely on the type of development settled on, he said.

Developing the land would not preclude the Navy from basing an aircraft carrier air wing at Kalaeloa, Dinell noted. The Navy also is considering Guam and the West Coast for the carrier group.

State investment should spur growth at Kalaeloa, as it did in Kaka'ako, Dinell said. The state spent approximately $153 million on infrastructure in Kaka'ako over 30 years, which helped attract more than $2 billion in private investment, he said.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.