New development partners are advancing a previously delayed plan to revitalize one of Hawaii’s oldest and most popular tourist attractions, Paradise Cove Luau.
James Campbell Co., owner of the 11-acre site at Ko Olina Resort & Marina in West Oahu, in 2021 anticipated that work on the project called The Cove at Ko Olina would begin in 2023 and finish in 2025.
Now, the landowner is working with local development firm Kobayashi Group and investment firm BlackSand Capital to carry out the plan, which includes a renewed nightly luau show plus up to three restaurants, small-scale retail shops and a new amphitheater for cultural performing arts.
The partnership, Cove Campbell Kobayashi LLC, published a draft environmental impact statement for the project Wednesday prepared for public comment and review by the city Department of Planning and Permitting.
The developers said in the report that they expect to start construction as early as 2025 and finish by 2027, subject to market conditions if approvals are obtained.
Planning and construction costs are estimated at $135.6 million. In 2021, the project’s cost was estimated at more than $60 million.
At least 70% of the property must be open space, including landscaped areas, under an existing requirement.
Steve Kelly, president of the Kapolei properties division of Campbell Co., said in a statement that The Cove project represents a generational opportunity to create a new gathering place and new jobs on a site with deep history and meaning.
“This project will honor and revitalize the property to allow for unique entertainment, dining and retail experiences while continuing to embrace the rich history and culture of this special place for both kamaaina and visitors,” he said.
Patrick Kobayashi, president of Kobayashi Group, said in a statement that the development firm is proud to partner with Campbell Co. to bring The Cove to life and create lasting economic and cultural benefits for residents and visitors alike.
According to the environmental report, Paradise Cove structures and programming are outdated, and a more authentic Hawaiian community gathering place for entertainment and events is needed.
The property has been the site of a luau catering to tourists since 1979, initially under a conditional use permit on land zoned for agricultural use. Later, the property was rezoned for commercial use that permits restaurants and retail associated with a “Hawaiian Theme Park” along with the luau and other operations that include weddings.
The site fronting a public beach in a natural cove was once the home of Alice Kamokilaikawai Campbell, daughter of businessman James Campbell, who bought 41,000 acres in West Oahu in 1877 and later leased much of the real estate to sugar cane plantations that were replaced in more recent decades by urban development including Oahu’s “second city” of Kapolei and Ko Olina.
After Alice Campbell’s death in 1971, Paradise Cove Luau was established on about half the site by local entertainment producer Roy Tokujo in 1979.
Tokujo’s company later expanded the operation and then sold it in 1991 to a firm led by local developer Herbert Horita that was then in an early stage of establishing a resort with hotels, homes, four man-made lagoons and a boat marina on adjacent land acquired from Campbell’s estate.
The last major redevelopment of Paradise Cove happened in the early 1990s as part of the resort’s initial development.
Campbell Co., successor to Campbell Estate, leases the Paradise Cove property to the tourist attraction’s operator, PC Services Inc., under a lease that previously ran until mid-2023 after being extended in 2019. Now the lease held by PC Services, which is led by Keith Horita, son of Ko Olina’s late initial developer, is anticipated to end in 2025, according to the environmental report.
The development partnership pursuing The Cove estimates that the project will need 484 full-time-equivalent jobs for long-term operations.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Paradise Cove employed a little over 200 people, and has drawn around 300,000 visitors a year to its luau, which can accommodate about 1,000 guests a night.
Public comments on environmental impact issues with The Cove project are being accepted for 45 days. The report plus information on how to comment are available at planning.hawaii.gov/erp.
