Hawai'i Kai housing to expand

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

Since July, heavy earthmoving equipment has been reshaping the landscape for a 70-home development near Koko Head Stables.

The developer, Konakoh Inc., plans to build homes on 7,000-square-foot lots, said Don Clegg, consultant for the company.

Construction could begin as soon as October, Clegg said. The city issued a permit in July to allow for mass grading.

The project will become the fifth housing development under way in what amounts to Hawai'i Kai's first building boom since the 1970s. Homes added to the community will total nearly 800 when all the developments are completed.

Konakoh will be using the dirt road going toward the Koko Crater Equestrian Center and the Koko Crater Botanical Gardens as its main access to the new homes, Clegg said. The road will be paved and landscaped on both sides with monkeypod trees.

The developer, which has had the building rights for several years, isn't required to make a presentation to the community because the land is zoned for homes, said Bob Fowler, a community activist and former member of the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board.

But as a matter of community relations, Fowler has called upon the developer to deliver a presentation to residents in October, including design plans.

"I think the developer has a responsibility to come forward to the community and lay out his plans, Fowler said. "The project is legal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be aesthetically pleasing to the community."

The development will be called Koko Villas and homes will sell for $650,000 to $850,000 each, Clegg said.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 395-8831.