County OKs demolition permits for Coco Palms

The planned revival of the shuttered Coco Palms Resort on Kauai is back on track after the county approved demolition permits for the famous resort.

A blessing ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at the property at 4-1345 Kuhio Highway in Kapaa as the investment group Coco Palms Hui LLC prepares for demolition work.

The ceremony is open to the public.

The Department of Public Works approved demolition permits Tuesday for the hotel’s main buildings: the Alii Kai I and II, Shell and the retail building. Co-partner Chad Waters of Coco Palms Hui said they plan to select a contractor by next week.

The work is expected to take four to six months.

The approval of the permits clears a major hurdle for the investment group.

“It’s been two years of hard work getting to this point,” said Waters. “We’re excited to get started.”

The approval comes after the Kauai Planning Commission granted Coco Palms Hui a time extension in August to submit applications for demolition permits. The request for an extension was made by the group as the State Historic Preservation Division reviewed and approved an archaeological monitoring plan.

Architect Ron Agor said the Alii Kai and Shell buildings will be gutted, leaving only the concrete columns and slabs. Selective demolition will also take place at the retail building, where Agor will determine what needs to be removed and replaced.

In recent weeks the Public Works Department also approved permits to fully demolish two bars: House in the Palms and Palms Lanai; the King, Queen and Prince cottages; Kings Lagoon; and other buildings. Work on those buildings is set to take place simultaneously with work on the hotel’s main buildings.

Investors plan to renovate or rebuild 350 hotel rooms, a decrease from its original 398 rooms.

Coco Palms has been closed since 1992, when Hurricane Iniki caused extensive damage. Investors plan to reopen the hotel in 2017 with Hyatt Hotels’ management set to oversee the resort. Development costs are estimated at $135 million.

Coco Palms served as a backdrop for numerous movies, notably the wedding scene in Elvis Presley’s “Blue Hawaii,” which was filmed at the lagoon.

Bob Jasper, who conducts weekly tours at the property Monday through Thursday, echoed Waters’ sentiment of the upcoming work.

“I’m just real excited, as are most people on Kauai,” he said.

Larry Rivera, 85, who worked at Coco Palms for 64 years in various positions — including dishwasher, waiter and eventually a singer performing with his daughters — said he is glad plans to rebuild the hotel are moving forward.

“We’ve been waiting since 1992,” he said.