Developer to give update on 500-acre Kona project
The developer of a 500-acre public-private development in North Kona is slated to brief the state today on its updated vision for the project.
Kona Kai Ola is a project by Atlanta-based Jacoby Development Inc., the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. A briefing is scheduled this afternoon before the department's board.
The project -- which still has no estimated cost -- is still on track, according to David Tarnas, an environmental consultant who is acting as the project's representative.
"Everything is going according to schedule," said Tarnas, principal consultant of Marine and Coastal Solutions International Inc. "That's the key message to the land board."
Jacoby's overall vision for Kona Kai Ola is for a development with an 800-slip marina, hotels, timeshares, a Hawaiian cultural center, commercial center, marine science center, marine parks and diving facility.
The project would be built in phases over a 10-year- period, with 200 acres leased from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands near Honokohau Harbor and 330 adjacent acres leased from the state land department.
As part of the deal, Jacoby would also provide some major infrastructure improvements, building a major road between Kailua village and the harbor.
The hotels and timeshares are expected to generate revenue for both state agencies.
Transfer of ownership of the state lands, and residential development for primary residences, is prohibited.
Until February 2005, the land use designation for the area was both urban and resort, but was amended by the county council's general plan to just urban, according to Tarnas. Down the line, Jacoby would need to get an amendment changing it back to both resort and urban.
Notice of an environmental impact statement by the state Office of Environmental Quality Control went out earlier this month, which Tarnas called a milestone. Now Jacoby seeks public comment.
A master development plan and core infrastructure plan are due for delivery to DLNR by the end of the year.
