Turtle Bay Resort breaks ground on new community garden

Hotel investment usually means more rooms, better pools, greater restaurant and retail choices.

More of that is eventually coming to Turtle Bay Resort, the largest hospitality development on Oahu’s North Shore. But on Friday the resort’s opening of Laulima Gardens proved that sometimes investing in the smallest of seeds brings the greatest community impact.

The resort and Pono Pacific welcomed the first 32 plot caretakers to its new community garden, a roughly 50-acre parcel along the makai side of the resort’s 540 acres of agricultural lands, which are in various stages of stewardship.

Ultimately, the agricultural easement also will include 90 acres of BioGrass that will produce natural gas that feeds into the resort’s tiki torches and helps support its cooking needs, said Turtle Bay Vice President Jerry Gibson. There also will be approximately 11 to 12 commercial farmers, who are expected to start growing food for the resort and the community over the next eight to 12 months, Gibson said. The resort also plans to plant hardwoods, such as koa, along the ridgeline and is exploring adding a trail system, a ropes course and zip lines, he said.

“They’ve been working on this concept for 30 years, and we’ve actually come to the point where we could do it,” Gibson said. “It’s costly to get it all going, and Blackstone willingly stepped up to the plate. This is just a proud day. We think the future of Laulima Gardens will really impact positively on the North Shore and local residents and all of our guests that come from all over the world.”

The resort’s future is unfolding under Blackstone, which acquired Turtle Bay Resort toward the end of 2017 for roughly $330 million. In addition to stewarding its agricultural lands, the resort is proceeding with redevelopment plans under a 2015 conservation agreement that was executed at about the same time as its agricultural easement.

Turtle Bay’s former owners received approval in 1986 to build 3,500 additional units, including five new hotel sites, but community resistance stopped the development from moving forward. A 2015 conservation agreement allowed Turtle Bay to retain about 150 acres fronting the ocean on either side of the resort’s existing hotel for expansion, which could include up to two hotels and a combination of 725 lodging and residential units.

Turtle Bay, which is managed by Benchmark Resorts &Hotels, plans to start a $70 million renovation by the fourth quarter of this year that will be the precursor for its plan to add about 725 more units during a lengthy build-out that could start two or three years from now.

State Sen. Gil Riviere (D, Heeia-Laie-Waialua), who attended the community garden’s opening, said many people in the community are still concerned about Turtle Bay’s expansion plans, but that the garden “ is a happy outcome and the start of more good work to come.”

“It appears the owners are much more willing to engage with the community,” Riviere said.

Jenna Golnik, who works at Turtle Bay’s stables, said she’s proud to work for a company that “wants to change what was originally planned and make it better for the community and for the world.”

Golnik said when she first came to the North Shore 2-1/2 years ago, she was worried about the resort’s plans to build out the rest of the shoreline. But Golnik said that she has been pleased with Blackstone’s recent focus on ecotourism and promoting sustainability, which includes the opening of Laulima Gardens.

Laulima Gardens is expected to further cultural and environmental sustainability and food independence by serving as a gathering place that provides the community and the resort with locally produced farm-to-table food. The 500-square-foot plots are equipped with individual access to water for irrigation and come with additional support like workshops to help create learning opportunities associated with growing, caring for and harvesting food.

“This is about inspiring and planting seeds of hope within our community,” said John Leong, CEO of Pono Pacific, a land management and conservation company hired by Blackstone to oversee its agricultural lands. “It’s really special that they are willing to put resources and efforts into cultivating a space that promotes sustainability, brings the community together and elevates Hawaii to a place that is resilient.”

Golnik said she and her friend Susie Wright, who was selected from a lottery that drew 250 applicants, already have planted tomatoes, green beans, peas, radishes, beets, broccoli and cilantro, and they’ve got some peppers going in soon.

McGuire Kahaialii, who has lived on the North Shore since 1982, said he plans to grow cabbage, kale, spinach and taro on his family’s plot, which he believes is an investment in the community’s resilience.

“I kind of believe that there may be a time when we may have problems getting food in from outside, and it will be nice for people to have their own food growing here,” Kahaialii said. “We all have to think about the community’s future.”