KIPAHULU, Maui — A rugged coastal property in Kipahulu has been sold for $3.6 million in a deal that conservation officials say will protect the 35-acre parcel's cultural, historic and open-space areas and retain shoreline access for residents of the rural community.

The sale was announced Saturday by The Nature Conservancy, the Maui Coastal Land Trust, the Kipahulu Community Association, and the new landowner, Los Angeles fashion designer Sue Wong.

Under an agreement among the four parties, Wong will be able to build an "unobtrusive" primary residence, an 'ohana unit and limited agricultural structures on no more than five acres, according to land trust executive director Dale Bonar. The remainder of the property cannot be subdivided for homes or used for commercial purposes.

The restrictions and a coastal access easement for the Kipahulu Community Association will remain in place even if the property is sold to a new owner, Bonar said.

The tract includes dramatic coastal vistas, pasture land, Hawaiian cultural and archaeological sites, and Kipahulu Landing, once a vital transportation link to the remote East Maui community.

The land was bequeathed to The Nature Conservancy in 2005 by Cordelia May, an heir to the Mellon fortune who left a $400 million estate. The group had approached May in the 1980s to consider bequeathing the property to the organization so conservation restrictions could be put in place and the land sold, with proceeds to be used for native forest preservation, according to David Cole, board chairman of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i.

May was a bird enthusiast and conservationist concerned about the plight of Hawai'i's native birds and forests, he said.

Because the conservancy's mission is to protect native biodiversity, and the Kipahulu property is mostly non-native pasture land, the organization felt it was not the appropriate party to arrange a "conservation buyer transaction," said Hawai'i executive director Suzanne Case. Instead, the Maui Coastal Land Trust, which works to protect open space and shoreline access, was asked to handle the deal, she said.

The conservancy donated a conservation easement to the Maui Coastal Land Trust and a shoreline access easement to the Kipahulu Community Association before offering the parcel for sale. The trust interviewed 10 prospective buyers before requesting proposals from three final candidates.

Wong, who has owned a home near the site for almost 10 years, was chosen on the basis of her willingness to accommodate the community and commit to conservation easement restrictions, Bonar said.

"It's a gorgeous property, the kind of place you could build 'McMansions' on," he said in a statement.

"Some of the other potential buyers indicated their interest was to do something a lot more grandiose. They wanted a lot more flexibility, potentially to subdivide the land. Sue understood the community and its values and is the perfect steward for the land. I think we all feel very fortunate that she was there and willing to step forward."

Wong also plans to establish a $1 million "Kipahulu Endowment" through the Hawai'i Community Foundation, Bonar said, with annual proceeds from the trust available for community projects. She will donate another $1 million to The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i next year.

The Maui Coastal Land Trust will monitor and enforce the conservation easement on the property. The Nature Conservancy is donating $75,000 to a conservation easement stewardship endowment fund for the land trust.