Kualoa Ranch building $2 million visitor center
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
Kualoa Ranch is taking advantage of a rebounding tourism industry to build a $2 million visitor center that will allow the diversified agriculture/recreational business to grow.
Photos by Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The investment is the biggest the business has made since starting its current operation in 1985, said John Morgan, president and general manager of the 4,000-acre ranch.
Kualoa Ranch, sprawling 4,000 acres at the foot of the Ko'olau, runs about 500 head of cattle, grows plants, maintains fish and aquaculture ponds, offers outdoor activities and tours and provides a banquet facility.
The visitor center will be 7,000 square feet and will include a kitchen, a dining area, restrooms and a gift shop.
Kualoa Ranch joins other Windward and North Shore tourist attractions that are upgrading their facilities, including the Polynesian Cultural Center, which spent $5 million in the past couple of years to improve and expand, and Dole Plantation, which will spend $6 million to develop six more acres at its store in Wahiawa.
The expansions come as the visitor industry rebounds from the fallout of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, war in Iraq and the SARS health problems that limited travel for many people, said Les Enderton, executive director for the O'ahu Visitors Bureau. Enderton said the industry is also building on strong tourism from North America and increases in arrivals and lengths-of-stay
"The expansion is occurring because business has been up," Enderton said. "It's a good sign for the industry. It's a good sign for the North Shore."
Residents have remarked on the size of the building going up at Kualoa Ranch. Morgan said it will be 7,000 square feet and will include a kitchen, a dining area, restrooms and a gift shop. The kitchen will replace a catering service it has depended on for 18 years.
Ultimately, Kualoa Ranch expects to add several more employees to its 60-member staff.
The rustic-style building is expected to open in June.
$2 million: Cost of Kualoa Ranch's new visitor center 7,000: The number of square feet under roof in the new building 16,000: The number of schoolchildren who visit the ranch each year for education and recreation 4,000: The number of acres occupied by Kualoa Ranch 150: The number of years Kualoa Ranch has been in the Morgan family
"We thought in order to strengthen our business and provide better service we'd build a visitor center, put food service in-house, upgrade our bathrooms, invest in the business," said Morgan, who is hoping the new structure will appeal to visitors and local people alike, making them feel welcome enough to just drop in and sign up for activities.
By the numbers
In ancient Hawai'i, the site now occupied by Kualoa Ranch was one of the more sacred places in the Islands. Today it is still recognized among Hawaiians for its strong spiritual nature with its rich culture, archaeological sites and history.
The ranch has been in the Morgan family for 150 years, purchased from King Kamehameha III and home to Hawai'i's first sugar mill.
Today the working ranch has diversified, running about 500 head of cattle, growing flowers and plants, maintaining fish and aquaculture ponds, offering outdoor recreational activities and tours, and providing a banquet facility.
Some 16,000 schoolchildren visit the ranch each year for educational and fun.
In 1985, at a time when ranching was vanishing in Hawai'i, Kualoa Ranch was able to stay afloat by branching out, diversifying and embracing the tourist industry, Morgan said. Diversification also allowed the family to keep the ranch in agriculture and not give in to housing or other types of development.
The family considers itself stewards of the land and is working with members of the community to create a vision for the future of the ranch, he said.
"Our goal as a family and therefore the business's goal is to be profitable enough to be able to preserve the agriculture open space, and in order to do that we have to diversify and allow people access to the property," Morgan said.
The new building under construction, although large, blends into the environment.
Kelvin Lau of Ka'a'awa said the building is in proportion to the surrounding mountain and set back far enough from the road to be unobtrusive.
The building is being framed and parts of it looks like a barn, said Henry Nawahine III, who also lives in the area. He also said the structure will be a nice improvement for the area.
Johnathan Hudson, who lives across the street from the ranch, said the noise from construction has been bothersome, especially when he has to work at night and sleep during the day. But Hudson, whose relatives work at the ranch, said the construction is still a positive addition to Windward O'ahu.
"It should be good for the economy," he said. "It should be really good for the ranch, which benefits everybody else around here in the community and the state."
Improving the attraction will benefit other visitor attractions as well, said Von Orgill, president of the Polynesian Cultural Center.
"Anytime businesses involved in tourism industry find ways to upgrade what they have to offer, it all bodes well for the island of O'ahu and the state as we try to attract business from around the world," Orgill said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
