In the two years that the state Land Use Commission held hearings on the proposed Hawaiian Riviera Resort, the developer’s plans underwent almost continual change — right up to the very day, May 14, 1991, that the Commission voted its approval.
Richard Eichor, the deputy attorney general representing the Office of State Planning at the proceedings, told the Commission on that day: “The changes made to the project have been confusing to understand and evaluate… The petitioner has generated controversy and delay because it has continually made major changes.
“When challenged about the massive size of the project, the petitioner promptly lopped off the Ka`u `Aina phase. And again, continuing right up to today’s hearing, they’ve reduced the size of the project.
“When the marina was questioned, the petitioner decided that a high-activity water facility would do just as well. When questioned about public play on the golf course, the petitioner decided to build another course for the public.
“The casual nature with which these changes have been made give concern for the seriousness of the petitioner in completing the project. None of these major changes are supported by appropriate studies or the record.”
Evolving Concepts
From the outset, the resort was billed as one that would have at its center a bustling fishing village much as one might find along the Mediterranean. That village, where the architecture would be in the lacy Victorian style of which King Kalakaua was so fond (and of which `Iolani Palace might be regarded as the architectural culmination), constitutes the portion of the project to be developed by Palace Development Corporation, one of the two partners in the resort development plan.
The hub of activity for the village would be a marina large enough to accommodate 400 vessels. Because no natural marinas exist on the site, and because the steep offshore slope does not lend itself to construction of seawalls that would form a protective cove offshore, the marina would be dug on fast land, with a channel being cut to the sea.
Along the coast would be a mooring for inter-island cruise ships, while inland, on either side of the marina, two artificial swimming lagoons would be carved out of the rock, to give resort patrons the illusion of an ocean beach. (The natural beaches in the area are few and far between — and in any case, the ocean waters are notoriously rough.)
A long promenade of shops and restaurants would run along the marina. Some 250 “full-service luxury villas” and 150 “Marina Garden apartments” would be built near the marina and sold to individuals. Two hotels (one “5-star luxury” class and the other merely “deluxe”), with a total of 900 rooms, would round out the commercial core of the Palace resort.
Further inland would be tennis courts, a golf course, and an equestrian center (including a polo field). Rounding out the first phase of construction on the Palace portion would be 150 townhouse units and development of 75 sites for single-family houses. In later phases, 125 “Marina Garden” apartments would be added, 225 additional townhouses would be built, and 352 house lots would be prepared for sale.
With some minor modifications, what the EIS referred to as “Phase One” of the Palace resort won approval by the Land Use Commission. Given concerns over the impacts of a marina, the Commission approved only a “high-activity water feature” — which might be a marina, or might not. If the marina is to be built, further approvals will be needed from the Commission as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies. Instead of two hotels, three were approved, but rather than having 900 rooms total, there would be just 700.
Waiting in the Wings
In the original plan, the Palace portion was to be bounded to the southeast by the Hawai`i Ka`u `Aina development. It was to be less densely developed and was described as having the feel of a Polynesian settlement.
According to the environmental impact statement prepared by Belt Collins & Associates, “The Ka`u `Aina Resort will draw upon the natural beauty and the historical significance of the surrounding area for its inspirations… A sense of majesty of, and respect for, the `aina, the land, will establish a consistent theme for the resort.” At its core would be a 600-room “high-activity hotel” with a “commercial area/cultural center” nearby. Additionally, 200 condominium units and 100 single-family houses would be built in the first phase. Later, on, plans called for a “deluxe/retreat hotel” with 400 units and 200 more single-family houses.
In early 1990, the attorneys for Palace and Hawai`i Ka`u `Aina indicated to the Land Use Commission that their clients would be content to have the Commission approve only the Palace portion. While the petition for boundary amendment was never formally amended to reflect this, and while the developers’ agents continue to say they are committed eventually to “full build-out” of the resort, the Commission approved reclassification of enough land just for the Palace phase of the resort proper. If Hawai`i Ka`u `Aina Resort is to be built, the developers will need to come once more before the Commission for a boundary amendment.
Mauka, near the Mamalahoa Highway, plans called for a support community of 800 acres with “affordable” housing for some resort employees. Between the support community and the resort proper would be a small airport occupying about 100 acres. The Land Use Commission sized the support community down to 340 acres. The airport was approved, but with a ban on any “industrial activity” in the airport vicinity.
Identity Crisis
At times, the testimony of the developer’s agents seemed confused, and never more so than when discussing the particular Hawaiian-Mediterranean melange that was to give the resort its special market appeal.
Thomas Bodden, manager of Hawai`i Ka`u `Aina, elaborated on the choice of the Riviera as a theme for the resort. “Riviera connotes a coastal community, something that is water oriented… To a European, the minute you mention Riviera, that is something that they will be able to relate to, and we felt that that was important.”
Bodden was asked if there was “any specific project along the Mediterranean coast that you think would most compare to what you’re trying to do here.”
“Well,” he answered, “I guess that place that comes to mind is Sicily… The coastline there is rugged, much as it is in Ka`u. There is a volcano, Mount Etna, in the rear. … I don’t mean to suggest that Ka`u would turn into Palermo, but there are certain similarities.”
Martin Pray, of Peat Marwick Main, prepared the market and financial feasibility study referred to in the EIS for the resort. His vision of the resort, offered in testimony to the commission in its early deliberations, regarded it as an effort to “revitalize the archaeological sites, create the Hawaiian cultural center, and to bring Hawai`i back into our tourism plan,” he told the Commission.
He continued: “I saw a conceptual drawing the other day… of the Hawai`i Ka`u `Aina and of the Hawaiian Riviera and I noticed there some magic names for places in Ka`u `Aina.
“And this again gets back to what makes tourism successful, these are designated areas. The Hawai`i historical archaeological park, the cultural entertainment area, the historic seafaring village, the Polynesian Hawaiian seafaring village, the Portuguese village, artist village, Spanish village — marketing names, if you will, to create a theme and an ambiance of the various elements in Ka`u `Aina. I think that sounds great.”
Pray explained that the Hawaiian Riviera Resort would be more than just a bunch of hotels. It would rather be a true resort, with people from all walks of life sitting down together at the restaurants, shopping together along the Promenade. The resort would draw in busloads of tourists doing circle-island trips. It would also “become the most popular fly-in restaurant in all the state for people who have private planes.”
No Place for Snobs
Intervener Glen Winterbottom, a Na`alehu resident, wholesaler of T-shirts, and author of a book, Prosperity through Preservation in the Great and Majestic District of Ka`u, questioned Pray about the various Spanish, Portuguese, and other elements he had mentioned. “Do you think that this means that Hawaiiana will not be the main focus on the part of the resort as it’s previously been described?”
“All of these different world villages sort of enhance that,” Pray answered. “They were catch phrases to designate little cove areas and so forth… We have to bring Hawai`i back into Hawai`i’s tourism. It’s dropped out tremendously over the past few years, and it has to be provided.”
Winterbottom: “But in your opinion, putting all these Spanish, Portuguese, et cetera buildings, these wouldn’t detract from the Hawaiiana aspect of it?”
Pray: “I think that has to be considered — good question.”
Winterbottom questioned Pray also on the juxtaposition of quarters for the very, very rich alongside a shopping and entertainment area that would cater to the tour-bus trade, according to Pray. That would pose no problem, Pray indicated, since “you want to get people … in the middle of the excitement, into the activity core.”
“That doesn’t create a problem,” Pray answered.
Winterbottom: “To your knowledge, do existing upscale resorts … seek to attract bus loads of daily visitors?”
Pray: “No, they are not in that business…”
Winterbottom: “So large numbers of less affluent day visitors would not … make the Hawaiian Riviera Resort less attractive to those persons who could actually afford the luxurious and exclusive accommodations there?”
Pray: “No, in this kind of atmosphere you don’t have snobbishness. Or, if you do have snobbishness, you can stay in your luxury unit.”
Despite the nearly frenetic activity Pray described as occurring along the area of the resort’s marina promenade, another planner, Lee Sichter, had quite a different explanation. In response to a question by the OSP’s Jean Nishida, Sichter, the author of the EIS for Belt Collins, answered that the marina was “not intended to be … glitzy commercialism, the kind of tacky thing that involves a lot of uses and activities that would really undermine” its character.
“The character of the marina,” he expanded, “is to be a place to gather, almost a quiet and introspective place…. [U]ses and activities that would undermine that ambience would not … be considered.”
Super-Exclusive
In any case, Pray’s vision of a bustling resort wherein people from all walks of life would mingle was superseded in early 1990. At a Commission hearing on February 23, Robert Lombardi, vice president of Palace, indicated that approval of a scaled-back version of the development would be acceptable to the developers. James Bell, president of Belt Collins & Associates, explained Lombardi’s suggestions in greater detail in a letter to the Commission on March 8, 1990. The developers “felt that … continued concerns about the extent of social and environmental impacts generated by the development … might be alleviated by a reduction in size. Therefore, Mr. Lombardi’s intent was to demonstrate to the commission that a reduction of the proposed project … would be acceptable to the petitioners and would be viable from a marketing planning and development perspective.” He added, however, that the revised plan “should not be interpreted as a departure from the project’s master plan… Petitioner remains committed to the project master plan.”
A new marketing consultant, Ernest Watari of Pannell Kerr Forster, was hired to assess market feasibility for the new plan. According to Watari’s testimony to the Commission, it was his firm that suggested the developers target the “ultra-luxury” segment of the tourism market — people who, when they travel, “they want exclusivity. They want privacy. They want elegance.”
He continued his description of the “ultra-luxury market”: “We look at that market as being those individuals that are generally the super-rich, the famous, celebrities, the royalties, heads of state, that type of group.”
The plain luxury market would be “just your regular millionaires, I guess. First-class accommodations is normally a step right below the luxury market.”
Watari was asked if this meant the resort would not be able to accommodate a more varied mix of tourists, as was originally proposed.
“When you’re dealing with the luxury or the ultra-luxury visitors,” he responded, “they really don’t care to mix with the other masses.” Even to mix first-class accommodations with luxury accommodations would make it difficult to attract the “luxury market, let alone the ultra-lux market.”
Watari was not asked whether making the swimming lagoons accessible to the public — as James Bell had earlier promised in response to a question from Commissioner Kajioka (the only commissioner voting against project approval) — would scare away the ultra-luxury crowd. However, Watari was asked by Richard Eichor, for the Office of State Planning, whether the elaborate security measures and controlled access he had described might in fact deter local people from visiting the resort and its facilities.
“It may deter some individuals,” he responded.
Eichor: “The whole point of making it exclusive is to deter people from attending it so that these ultra-rich people can be left alone, isn’t that correct?”
Watari: “Partially, yes.”
Bowling and Miniature Golf
The report that Watari prepared for the resort developers was submitted as evidence to the Land Use Commission. It describes more precisely the make-up of the anticipated resort. Room rates would be in the area of $345 a night when the hotels open, rising to $594 by the year 2003. “The resort is designed to offer a high level of service and amenities unparalleled with any other resort in the state,” Watari’s report says.
Tenants in the 120,000-square-foot commercial area would be appropriately toney. “In such an integrated and exclusive resort as the Hawaiian Riviera,” Watari writes, “the majority of merchandise selections should be upscale in nature with price levels geared toward the international ultra-luxury visitor.”
A list of some “possible tenants” provides a clue as to how the rich and famous might want to pass the time in Hawai`i. Included are: a T-shirt/logo shop; a gourmet pizza restaurant; a marina theme bar; a “palace/royalty theme pub”; a “specialty drinks cafe”;
A “cinema complex; museums (palace theme, marina theme, aquarium, etc.); bowling alley; ice skating rink; miniature golf, video game parlor.”
Among the “support services” would be a video cassette rental shop, a Realtor’s office, a “beach center,” and, of course, a chapel.
Volume 1, Number 12 June 1991
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