Posted on: Saturday, January 8, 2005

$1 billion resort planned in Ko Olina

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Developer Jeff Stone plans to break ground this year on a $1 billion, 25-acre resort in Ko Olina that will surround a proposed aquarium and give an economic jolt to the Wai'anae Coast.

The 1,000-room Grand Ko Olina Resort, Hotel & Spa and interactive aquarium will add at least 1,000 jobs to an area of O'ahu in need of more opportunities, Stone said at a news conference hosted by Gov. Linda Lingle.

"Anytime you build something that big, businesses will come," said Gary Char, 60, who closed his shop, Westside Tackle & Sports Shop, in Wai'anae last week. "For businesses, it's going to help."

The resort will consist of four tall towers used either as hotels or condominiums, a vacation club and a Hawaiian village.

The aquarium, in the middle of the resort, will hold 5 million gallons of water and feature a "shark island" that will include tiger sharks as large as 14 feet. Visitors will be able to swim among reef fish separated by clear walls from sharks and other creatures.

Stone said operation of the aquarium, which was given a 10-year, $75 million state tax credit, will involve the University of Hawai'i and would complement the Waikiki Aquarium.

The aquarium was originally expected to open this year. Last year Stone blamed the delays on unanticipated city permitting hurdles. Yesterday he said the main delay was the potential expansion of the Waimanalo Gulch landfill, and thanked Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who has pledged to try to close the dump in 2008.

"You can't commit to billions of dollars while someone's planning to expand a dump above your resort," Stone said.

Hannemann, who attended yesterday's news conference, said his administration "will do everything we can to fulfill that commitment and if we can't meet that, certainly we'll report back to the community."

He said he has long supported the aquarium project, adding that the jobs it creates should help ease traffic congestion by allowing people to work closer to their homes.

Patty Teruya, a member of the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board, supports the development, so long as Stone lives up to promises of providing Wai'anae-area residents with high-skill jobs.

"You got a big tax break, brother — keep your word," she said.

"I just hope there will be equal employment opportunities for our community out there.

"We need to get out of this depressing feeling."

Not everyone is excited about the new aquarium.

"I wasn't for it then (when it was first approved), and I'm not for it now," said Jo Jordan, 42, owner of Tax Lady in Wai'anae who has lived in West O'ahu since 1971. "I don't think they deserve that tax credit. They were going to build Ko Olina no matter what. So for them to ask the state for a $75 million tax credit over 10 years, it's stupid. To me, it's a waste."

And she doesn't think the aquarium will lure as many tourists to the community as developers predict.

"We have an aquarium in Waikiki where the tourists are," said Jordan, a member of the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board. "It's nice to have an aquarium, I guess, but not if we have to pay for it ... because it was attached to that tax credit, I don't like it. ... The whole thing stinks."

To assist with the development, Stone brought in Takeshi Sekiguchi, CEO of TSA International, whose projects include the Grand Wailea and Four Seasons Wailea on Maui. Sekiguchi said his decision to re-enter Hawai'i's market was based on the economic recovery of the Japanese economy and the forecast of increased travel from Asia.

Stone said the project would break ground in the fourth quarter of this year. He said he couldn't yet estimate when the project would be completed.

Advertiser Staff Writers Sean Hao and Catherine Toth contributed to this report. Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2470.