Kamehameha Schools plans to begin demolition of the shuttered Keauhou Beach Hotel in early 2016 as the trust moves forward with plans for its educational complex known as Kahaluu Ma Kai.
Kamehameha Schools plans to begin demolition of the shuttered Keauhou Beach Hotel in early 2016 as the trust moves forward with plans for its educational complex known as Kahaluu Ma Kai.
Demolition of the 300-plus-room hotel, as well as remnant Kona Lagoon Hotel facilities, is expected to occur between spring 2016 and 2017 at a cost of $11.5 million, according to a final Environmental Assessment released Tuesday that also received a finding of no significant impact from Hawaii County.
Kamehameha Schools plans to take down the seven-story hotel, which closed in 2012, in a controlled manner from the top down. Crews will complete as much work as possible from the shore side of the hotel, officials said.
A form of “soft demolition” of the interior would take place first to remove all wood, plaster, glass, drywall and other items, including hazardous materials, leaving only the building’s exterior walls and structure, according to the assessment. The building shell would then be taken down by a large crushing machine working from the exterior inward.
About 2,550 square feet of the hotel located over the lagoon would be removed using chipping guns and wire saws in a manner to keep debris, dust and resulting particles out of the water. Existing columns in the tide pool would be first cut off at or near the footings, and the remaining concrete footings removed to bring the concrete level with the bottom of the tide pool.
Finally, they would demolish the building’s basement, then stabilize the site of the excavated area for redevelopment as part of a new basement supporting the project’s facilities and operations, the assessment said.
The demolition contractor will separate waste materials generated from demolition at the site, and recyclable materials, such as scrap iron and steel, would be placed into recycling containers and taken to recycling centers on the Big Island. Concrete would be processed at the site by removing reinforcement bar and then crushing the material for reuse.
“Most (estimated at about 80 percent) of this concrete material is planned to be recycled for reuse with the property’s redevelopment as general fill material, pavement aggregate, and possibly material for drainage improvements,” the assessment reads.
During the demolition work, public access to the beach on the southern end of the property and heiau will be restricted for public safety, according to the assessment.
“KS will work with the contractor and monitor demolition and site redevelopment construction activities to determine when it is safe to resume access, and to notify the public. Coordination with the county will keep the administration and (police department) informed on the status of demolition and redevelopment activities. Signage would also be posted at the main driveway entrance and other pertinent areas to inform the public of this temporary situation,” the assessment reads.
Once the demolition work and necessary permits, which includes a Special Management Area permit, are secured, Kamehameha Schools will move forward with the $28.5 million Kahaluu Ma Kai project that will render the area south of Kahaluu Bay into an educational complex.
The project, on some 22.73 acres at Kahaluu, will further Kamehameha Schools’ mission by restoring a historically and culturally significant property while supporting land-based educational and the culture-based instruction in West Hawaii. The goal of Kahaluu Ma Kai, which aligns with the trust’s 2020 Strategic Plan, is to provide a place for the teaching and learning of applied Hawaiian knowledge that supports the development of 21st century skills.
Individual buildings, comprising a total of 57,900 square feet, will be constructed over an eight-year period subject to available funding and program priorities. The school estimates completion of the Kahaluu Ma Kai project, which will include a 4,200-square-foot Heritage Center, 6,300-square-foot multipurpose building and a 7,300 hale hoomaha, or camping/sleeping room, by 2023.
The first phase, which includes constructing a public parking lot and shoreline access path at the south end of the property, is expected to be done by spring 2018. The public access path is being constructed early on to ensure access during later phases that may prompt other access means to be temporarily restricted, the assessment said.
The path would provide access to the sandy beach area at the southern half of the property, known as Makolea Cove for recreational activities, from a 10-stall public parking lot off Alii Drive. The parking lot and public access corridor would be dedicated to the county as perpetual easements ensuring public access to the shoreline.
“The new public parking lot serves as a community benefit being provided as part of the managed access program proposed under this project. The pedestrian path would be open every day during daylight hours in conjunction with the operation of the parking lot. Signage would be provided to notify the public of this access and hours of operation,” the assessment reads.
Public access within the project site is proposed during construction and will consist of two levels: managed and public shoreline access, the latter of which is detailed above. Kamehameha Schools says the managed access program, which will require visitors to check-in, is necessitated by the presence of visiting students and teachers and the need to provide a secure learning environment.
“As is the current practice, and in the future, the public will be allowed to walk through designated areas of the property while visiting students and teachers conduct aina-based educational activities outside and in the classroom,” the assessment reads. Lateral access across the northern section of the project site would be restricted, however, because most of the classroom facilities and education programs will be located in the previous footprint of the hotel, and will require a “safe school zone” that typically extends from 500 feet to 1,000 feet from education facilities.
Keauhou Beach Hotel, built in 1969, closed its doors in October 2012 after more than 40 years in operation. The hotel, which Bishop Holdings Corp., the for-profit subsidiary of Kamehameha Schools, purchased in 2004 for $26.75 million, had not been profitable for at least six years prior to its closure, and the operator was unlikely to have the capital to address years of deferred maintenance.
The 454-room Kona Lagoon Hotel was demolished in 2004 at a cost of $10.5 million after being shuttered for approximately 16 years.