KO OLINA, Hawaii (KHON2) — Redeveloping Paradise Cove into an authentic Hawaiian community gathering place is what will happen if a proposed multi-million dollar project is approved and permitted in Ko Olina.
The chair of the neighborhood board in Ko Olina told KHON2 that the James Campbell Company and its partners told them a few years ago that Paradise Cove was on its way out.
“They came and let us know that Paradise Cove was going to be sunsetted,” Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale neighborhood board chair Makana Paris said. “After that initial scoping a few years ago, they came back to the community and they basically gave us a rendering about what they’re thinking about doing in the area.”
A performing arts venue designed for 480 guests, restaurants, retail stores, pedestrian pathways and more are all part of the developers plans. Paris said they will employ local labor for construction and operation of the commercial spaces.
FILE – A conceptual landscape site plan for the proposed development of Cove at Ko Olina, Hawaii, May 8, 2024. (Cove Campbell Kobayashi LLC photo)
“The plan is for not just focus on the Ko Olina resort and our tourists or malahini, but also to be a welcoming space for kamaaina and all of the locals on the west side of Oahu to come and enjoy,” Paris said. “Which is sorely lacking on the west side.”
A draft environmental impact study was published on Wednesday, May 8 and starts a 45-day public comment period where testimony will be added to the final EIS in the State Office of Environmental Quality.
“Tourism in itself is not bad, but it’s how it’s managed and who benefits from it,” Paris said. “From what the plan proposes, they’re trying to make sure that every dollar spent in the resort area is actually going to local hands and staying in our local economy.”
The last major redevelopment of the property was in the early 1990s and Paradise Cove has used the site for more than 20 years — the new project is called Cove at Ko Olina.
“They came before the neighborhood board, there was no comments of opposition from the community,” Paris said. “They’re trying to make sure that the access for the community will be pretty substantial.”
Developers said construction will break ground as soon as 2025 — if all goes well with approvals and permits — and could wrap up by 2027. The expected cost is $135.6 million.