KAPAA — Construction of a beachfront timeshare slated to be built on the Eastside is expected to begin in the fall.
Coconut Beach Resort, owned by Symmetry Property Development and SPD II Makaiwa Development Resort Development LLC, will begin construction of its 330-unit resort in the Coconut Plantation Resort Area in Kapaa in September.
Manager Mitch Heller said developers are working on acquiring a grading permit from the Department of Public Works.
“We certainly hope that DPW will approve everything needed for our grading permit, so we can begin grading perhaps in September this year,” he said.
Developers hope to begin vertical construction of the project in March 2017 and open the resort on a limited basis by summer 2018.
“Our current plan anticipates about 18 or 20 months from the time we start vertical work until we open the first section of the resort — when we’ll have our lobby building and a limited number of condo buildings and at least one pool completed,” Heller said.
Construction is expected to completed by early 2019.
The timeshare will be on a 10-acre parcel at 650 Aleka Loop. It will consist of about 330 condo units, with about 80 one-bedroom units and a dozen three-bedroom units, with the majority being two-bedroom units, Heller said.
Three themed pools will also be included: one for families, one for kids and one exclusively for adults.
There will also be a restaurant, lounge and pool bar and grill.
Heller estimates that there will be about 200 jobs created.
“Our construction period will generate quite a few jobs, and we certainly hope to fill them with local construction tradesmen who can work on island instead of commuting to Oahu all the time,” he said. “Permanent positions at the resort outside the timeshare facility will also create a couple hundred jobs.”
Not everyone is wild about the development.
Gabriela Taylor, a resident of Keapana Valley, is concerned about the impact the project will have on traffic in the area, particularly if a new Coco Palms is built.
She believes the development right on the ocean will also stress infrastructure, including sewer, landfill and water. Runoff from resort landscaping pesticides and other chemicals could further harm the ocean, fish and coral, Taylor said.
“We residents are paying the cost of this overdevelopment with our taxes, as well as our emotional health, and with the loss of a rural lifestyle that can never be restored,” she said. “Why should we allow development to not only rob our peace, but to further damage our most precious resource, the ocean and beach along the Coconut Coast? The cost is too high.”
Heller said developers would like to open the resort under the Hyatt brand and hopes to forge a long-term relationship. He said the deal with Hyatt is not finalized. Heller said RIM Architectures out of Honolulu designed the resort, and developers are searching for a general contractor.
