Coco Palms developers: Less density, one less story for buildings

Coco Palms LLC. leaders are asking the Kaua‘i Planning Commission to consider a renovation plan for the Coco Palms Hotel that calls for less density and offers a feeling of more spaciousness.

Coco Palms LLC leaders are proposing three-story buildings as opposed to four-story buildings and a bigger gap between buildings to allow for a better view of the Coconut Grove, said to be the largest or among the largest coconut groves in Hawai‘i.

The developer also is proposing to build a few more hotel rooms and one less condominium at the 33-acre hotel site fronting the Wailua Bay.

The Planning Commission is scheduled to meet at the Lihu‘e Civic Center at 9 a.m. on Dec. 14, and most likely will review the changes proposed by Coco Palms LLC. before voting to allow or not allow the renovation of the Coco Palms.

The hotel was the flagship hotel of Kaua‘i in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was operated by the Guslanders, and was touted as a premier Polynesian hotel.

The hotel was severely damaged by Hurricane Iniki in 1992, and has been closed since them.

The hotel also was the site for the partial filming of Elvis Presley’s 1961 “Blue Hawai‘i.”

Through a plan to revamp the old hotel, the developers are proposing to bring back the glory days of the Coco Palms Hotel.

The owners originally envisioned a project comprising 103 hotel suites and 200 multi-family residential condominium units, retail shops, a spa, a museum, restaurants, office space, meeting rooms and 715 parking stalls.

In documents sent to the county Planning Commission, Rodney Funakoshi, the project manager for Wilson Okamoto & Associates, a Honolulu consultant that is working on the proposed hotel renovation project, noted these changes:

• The height of hotel buildings has been reduced from four to three stories;

• The gap between hotel buildings has been expanded to create a 155-foot to 206-foot opening to offer a better view of a historic coconut grove;

• The ends of building have been “stepped back” to reduce the height and mass of buildings and to improve views from the lagoons on the property to the coconut grove;

• A single condominium has been eliminated to provide for more retail space;

• Three new additional hotel rooms also are planned for construction.

• The project calls for 106 hotel rooms and 199 condominiums.

Diagrams sent to the Kaua‘i County Planning Commission show 195 condominium units to be housed in four buildings located immediately mauka of Kuhio Highway.

The data also showed the bulk of the 106 hotel rooms will be located mauka of two lagoons.

In addition, the cottage Presley used in “Blue Hawai‘i” will be renovated. A chapel that has been used by longtime entertainer Larry Rivera for “Blue Hawaii” weddings will be renovated as well, according to a map sent to county planners.

In addition, a four-story parking structure will be built immediately south of Apana Road, which connects with Haleilio Road. The latter road is the main thoroughfare to homes in Wailua Houselots.

Plans also call for the renovation of the old Seashell Restaurant, located makai of the hotel site.

The developer noted in the data that the changes are being proposed in response to concerns residents and government agencies have raised at previous public hearings.

Some Hawaiians had recommended that the developer allow Hawaiians or the kanaka maoli, the indigenous people of Hawai‘i, and the public continued access to government-managed lands located within the hotel property.

About half of the property, including the coconut grove, is managed by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, and is leased to the hotel owners.

Kaua‘i architect Avery Youn, had contemplated asking the Planning Commission to grant him intervenor status in the case.

Youn, a former Kaua‘i County planning director, said he has standing in his case because he is part-Hawaiian and lives in Wailua, near the hotel.

It is now known that the developer has signed a written document guaranteeing public access to the state lands at the hotel site.

Coco Palms, LLC. leaders are seeking a special management area use permit, a project development use permit, a variance permit and a Class IV Zoning permit for the 33-acre project.

In other matters, the planning commissioners have scheduled a pubic hearing at 1:30 on Dec. 14 to consider a request for permits from Alexander & Baldwin to develop housing on 17.5 acres at Port Allen Harbor.

Alexander & Baldwin leaders are proposing to construct 3, three-story, multifamily buildings consisting of 75 condominium units, and 60 single-family homes.

Also planned are a pool cabana, a swimming pool, a single-story maintenance office and 160 parking stalls.

The project will be developed at a site where plantation camp homes once existed, according to documents Tom Shigemoto, an A & B executive, sent to the county Planning Department.

Shigemoto said the single-family residential subdivision will be named Keala‘ula. The homes will be one-story and will be more than 16 feet high.

The three-bedroom, two-bath and two-car carport homes will range between 1,150 to 1,236 square feet.

The condominium development will be named Kai‘olino, with the 75 units to be contained in three separate structures that will be built on a buff overlooking Port Allen Harbor, Shigemoto said.

The three-story structures are not to exceed a height of 48 feet, he said.

Some units will have three bedrooms and two bathrooms and other units will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, Shigemoto said.

The units will range in size from 1,150 to 1,299 square feet.

Half of the 150 parking stalls for the condominium units will be covered and the other half will be uncovered, he said.

The idea of mixing single-family and multi-family units at the site is not new, Shigemoto said.

Drafter of the county’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, which spells out specific land uses, envisioned such a use for the property in the early 1970s, Shigemoto said.

The idea may not have taken hold because local residents then preferred owning detached, single-family homes on individual lots, he said.

But times have changed, he said.

Because of the scarcity of single-family lots and the changing demographics of the island, “this concept (of mixing single-homes with multi-family units) merits consideration as land prices, materials and infrastructure costs keep escalating beyond the reach of most of our residents,” Shigemoto said.

The proposed project is compatible with uses on surrounding lands, he said. Next to the site sits an elderly housing project operated by the Hawaii Housing Authority, he said.

The site offers “outstanding” views of Port Allen Harbor and the ocean, and is located makai of Hanapepe River, Shigemoto said.

Because the site is close to the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center, people, instead of driving, can walk to stores to do their shopping, Shigemoto said.

That method of shopping would help reduce the number of cars on the roads around the ‘Ele’ele and Hanapepe area, Shigemoto indicated.

For the project, A& B leaders are seeking a special management area use permit, a project development use permit and a Class IV Zoning permit.

Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net