Posted on: Monday, October 1, 2001
Kahului hotel plans undeterred by Sept. 11 events
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
KAHULUI, Maui — The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have not deterred two developers from moving forward with plans for hotel construction in Kahului.
Officials for both A&B Properties, which is proposing a 140-room business hotel near Kahului Airport, and Elleair Hawai'i Inc. of Japan, which wants to rebuild the old Maui Palms Hotel, said the projects remain on track despite the recent dip in the economy.
Both projects are aimed at moderately priced business and family travelers and tour groups.
Elleair Hawai'i, owner of the Maui Palms and Maui Beach hotels on the shores of Kahului Harbor, is proposing a $16 million overhaul that would see the construction of a 136-room, four-story guest wing at the Maui Palms, a common lobby linking the Maui Palms to the Maui Beach, and other renovations to both properties.
The Maui Palms Hotel, built in 1953, has only 20 rooms in use after portions of the hotel were demolished in 1998. The Maui Beach Hotel has 145 rooms and has undergone recent renovations.
If everything goes as planned, a new combined hotel with approximately 300 guest rooms will be operational within five years, said Masashi Yano, manager of Elleair Hawai'i.
The project would create 35 to 45 new jobs after construction, according to the company's permit application. Yano said he may retain the Maui Beach Hotel name after the renovations.
Meanwhile, a plan by A&B Properties to build a small, business-oriented hotel near the airport cleared one bureaucratic hurdle last week when the Maui Planning Commission recommended approval of A&B Properties' request for a zoning change.
The project, to be situated on a triangle-shaped property of 3.35 acres at the intersection of Dairy Road, Keolani Place and Haleakala Highway, will need a special management area use permit because of its proximity to the ocean.
The hotel will be managed by Marriott International as a Courtyard by Marriott property. It will have one meeting room, a restaurant/lounge, swimming pool and exercise room.
