The investors redeveloping the hurricane-damaged Coco Palms hotel on Kauai now own the property.

Coco Palms Hui LLC has acquired the property from Prudential Insurance’s PR II LLC with a $23 million loan from Private Capital Group of Alpine, Utah. The title has been transferred to Coco Palms Hui from Prudential after escrow closed Friday.

The estimated cost for the complete rebuilding project is $135 million. The investors plan to work on the second round of funding once they finalize construction designs and building permits.

The hui plans to reopen the iconic hotel as a Hyatt property.

Coco Palms opened in January 1953. The property was popularized by the wedding scene in the 1961 Elvis Presley movie “Blue Hawaii,” filmed at the hotel’s lagoons. The hotel has been shuttered since September 1992 due to extensive damage from Hurricane Iniki.

The development hui has received $3.5 million for demolition work, and contractor Pacific Concrete Cutting & Coring is slated to start work in the coming weeks.

“We’re excited to get going and make this a reality,” said Tyler Greene of Coco Palms Hui.

The hotel’s Alii Kai and Shell buildings are slated to be gutted, while other structures on the property will be demolished.

In the past few months, Kauai County’s planning department raised concerns over whether the project would move forward because of delays in the demolition work. Under a condition stipulated in the redevelopment permits, demolition work, which has yet to start, was to be completed by April 13.

At a meeting held Monday, the Coco Palms Hui assured the county Planning Commission it would be closing on the new loan. Greene had previously told members that the hui was forced to seek a new lender and restart the process after a lender suffered serious health problems, thereby contributing to the delay in securing financing.

The commission deferred a decision on whether to hold a show-cause hearing on revocation or modification of the group’s redevelopment permits until its May 24 meeting, when Coco Palms Hui plans to provide an update on the status of demolition.

“The closing is confirmation of a good step forward towards meeting their obligations under our permits,” county Planning Director Mike Dahilig said.

The escrow status is an indication developers are serious in meeting their obligations, he said, adding that county officials will continue to monitor the situation.

Several efforts taken on by other developers to overhaul and reopen Coco Palms have failed because of financial challenges.

Greene has informed the commission that he and partner Chad Waters put up personal assets to secure the loan to show their commitment to the project. Both men are from Oahu.

The hui started the process to acquire Coco Palms three years ago. Describing the property as coming with “challenges,” Waters said, “Good things take time.” He added, “We’re excited to reach this point. There’s a lot of work to do.”