A wild meeting just took place on the future of a hotel or cultural park at Coco Palms Kauai.
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A wild meeting just took place on the future of a hotel or cultural park at Coco Palms Kauai.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Move the road and restore the property. Who wouldn’t want to stay at Coco Palms resort if restored to it’s previous glory. Just think of the revenue and jobs created!! What a beautiful destination for weddings.
Similar problem with stagnation on decisions on the beautiful restaurant at Hanalei Bay Resort. Languishing and falling into disrepair. There are few opportunities to experience such a beautiful vista when dining. Short sighted stubborness. Holding a grudge for what?
I was visiting your lovely isle from Oahu about a week ago and noticed some work being done on the site. Any update? Mahalo!
Hi Wendy.
As far as we know what you saw was road repair related equipment.
Aloha.
Quite the saga….all kinda sad
I read of “desecrating a sacred spot”, but one needs to clear away all that is there. It is an eyesore and becoming a living community…in not a good way.
A flood zone? Not a good place for a resort.
A community cultural park….sounds like a plan to me.
All in my opinion.
Would have been awesome to bring Her back to a lovely place again….but…not realistic in any way.
Aloha!
Hi Deb.
Thanks. Good to hear from you and get your input on Coco Palms.
Aloha.
Coco Palms will always be remembered for it’s physical beauty but, sadly, even I (after later moving and living nearly 50 years in Hawaii) originally overlooked the fact that what gave it that really special feel was the true Aloha spirit extended to the guests. I am not talking about the normal run of the mill politeness that all service workers are expected to extend. True Aloha spirit comes from the heart and once you have been touched by it you will never forget that overwhelming feeling.
That Kauai would even consider permitting another hotel while they seem to be doing everything they can to limit visitors and save the land seems very odd. Just tear CP down, and do a cultural center if it won’t flood. — Former Island Holidays employee.
Be aware of any company that will not disclose who the ownership is especially from Utah. This could be a shell company set up by the Church of Latter-day Saints. I do not mean any disrespect to the church, but who else from Utah has the funding to redevelop Coco Palms.
Excellant report by Beat of Hawaii.
l
Do you know about if hotel property fee simply owner (present or the so called”new buyer”) even has mentioned or Planning Commission has ever asked them about any actions they have taken to become lessee of the State (DNLR) land that makes up the coconut grove, the corner at Kuamoo and Kuhio and a portion that is SeaShell. Kauai County Property website says lessee is Coco Palm Ventures LLC (a former developer) with address in Honolulu . It also seems to show that back property taxes owed. Wonder if a new lessee will be reponsible to pay back taxes not paid by a former lessee or if County can take some action to collect from State.
HI Carl.
Great questions. We haven’t heard anything about the state land that’s part of it.
Aloha.
This is excellent coverage of the Planning Commission hearing today; however, the Planning Commission’s own rules require “substantial progress” be made within two years of the issuance of permits or the permits automatically lapse (not within the last two years). Permits were issued 3/10/2015. Under the rules, the permits lapsed in 2017. The Fifth Circuit Court, State of Hawaii, ruled in a similar case in 2020 that the Commissioners could not extend the time. The “lapsing of permits” is mandatory if no substantial progress was made within the first two years of the issuance of permits. While the County of Kauai appealed the Court’s decision, the decision has not been reversed, to date.
Aloha, Here We Go, Again,,,,
I don’t know how, I have no proof, no ideas but this is so fishy,,
First time the representative had been to Kaua’i? Give me a break. That right there should tell you something and the were not building huts here, even I, as only a 16 year houle resident, find that incredibly offensive! Huts might just be the way to go Mr Utah.
A question which nobody ever seems to want to answer: How much is the upfront and ongoing cost and who pays if this is turned into a cultural center ?
I certainly presented the same question in a way to provide some guidance in how much would it cost and who would be willing to pay. If the current owners want to provide funding for a project of a certain scope perhaps the best solution could be obtained with their assistance. Otherwise donors need to be found.
Don’t you think if donors for a project this size were available, they would already have been found ?
I hope Coco Palms can be restored closely to the way it was before Iniki. It was such a magnificent place that so many fondly remember today.
Too bad the minority members of the Council voted down the resolution for a Charter amendment for affordable housing funding. If citizens approved, then the funds to purchase the property may have been available to reimagine Coco Palms with some affordable housing and cultural center together.
Forgive me, but it seems to me the permitting process is just a game of delay, reapply, delay, reapply. And if the place is unsuitable for a hotel due to global climate change, then it certainly is for a cultural center. Furthermore, what did the prior owners do that allowed them to construct it? Communication and compromise then, should be as vital for now.
The Coco Palms could never realistically be replaced. In today’s world a hotel that small couldn’t make enough to satisfy the investors and a big newer resort type hotel couldn’t recreate the magic. It is a fond memory of what once was and I’m thankful I had the privilege to experience it in the 1960s. I was just a young child but it’s a place I have never forgotten. I think it would be the best tribute to Kauai and the loving memories of a tremendous landmark to develop a cultural center in it’s place. It would be amazing if the architects could design the new buildings along the lagoon in a similar style of the original structures
Thank you Beat of Hawaii for providing an update on the hearing about Coco Palms. One thing I don’t understand and wonder if you would be able to address is why the Kauai government is continuing to allow developers to extend and extend and extend the permits when there is are so many people against rebuilding. You are also right on that a hotel at that spot would not be all that desirable at all, particularly a luxury hotel that they claim to be building.
Hi AW.
We wonder the same thing ourselves. It just doesn’t add up.
Aloha.
Something to do with an upcoming election?
Making Coco Palms a historical or cultural site only may not be feasible if the County of Kauai or State of Hawaii would need to fund this effort. Donations from some of the Billionaires that are frequenting Kauai may be possible and should be investigated for a source of funding. Any plan must include the feasibility of securing the funding for the plan.
I truly hope they don’t open another hotel as if we need more I like the idea of a cultural center of some sort or something referring to the indigenous history
Hilo Beware! the same could happen with the Uncle Billy’s hotel on Banyan drive.
It seems like many people express their opinion that a hotel should Not be built on the Coco Palms site. It seem that developing it into a cultural site is one of the options that people feel is desirable, however, no one has come forward with a feasbile financial plan to make that happen. The current owner of the property seems to want to make it a hotel and a cultural site and they have the financial backing to make that happen. Instead of just saying no someone in leadership needs to come forward with a feasible plan for the site. That may be with or without the financial help of the current owner of the property.
Each of the previous owners/developers of the property have claimed they had the financial backing to complete the project, but time and again nothing had happened. I don’t know why we should expect this is any different.
That may be the case, but is there any expectation that the funding to buy the property and turn it into a park or cultural center will materialize? I think if the public can show a plan for having the funding required to make the cultural center plan happen then the arguments against the Coco Palms development will have the appropriate strength needed to prevail.
I join the many families who have visited the Coco Palms Hotel
from the 70s…..it was a Most Enjoyable week long visit with 6 of our Family…We recall
fondly the nightly event of lighting torches as the Words ” Over 100 Years Ago” were sounded along with the Conch Shell sound….Our children were in Awe of it all…
A Special Place that definitely should be Preserved in some Way to the delight and Benefit of All. Very Sad to see it in this state of Decay for years now….Surely there is
a way to Retain the Traditional Hawaiian Atmosphere that it conveyed to so many for so many years…….No Greed should be allowed to ruin this Property….Mahalo,
Don S
I absolutely agree with you!
The reality is that we live in a capitalist society that is largely based on the belief and affirmation of private ownership of land–and government support of that principle. So… what the “natives” want or think about who owns that land–or even what they think should be done with the land–is irrelevant. That ship has sailed. But there is a little thing called eminent domain that could potentially be used in a situation like this… where the gov’t condemns and “takes” the property (i.e. buys it) for the public good. The taxpayers of Kauai would just have to pony up fair market value–$22,000.000+–to compensate the owners. That’s a drop in the bucket… right?
How can anyone who has never been to Kauai be involved in the future of the Coco Palms?
It seems like the best solution might be for the locals to pool together enough money to buy the property. Then they could demolish the buildings and let the site go back to its original natural sacred setting, or build a cultural center, or whatever they want. Then they could restrict the access to locals only if they wanted, thereby reducing any traffic, congestion issues too.
Thanks for your interesting newsletters!
Hi Don.
Thanks. We appreciate your first comment, on the subject of Coco Palms.
Aloha.
It’s to bad it wasn’t restored to its original design. It could still be and it would take people back to a different time. Don’t build some big hotel.
A Layton Construction Executive is part owner and Layton Construction (same company recently locked out of both 1 Hotel and Timbers projects) is slated to be GC.
The Polynesian cultural center on Oahu comes to mind as a possibility.