Plans are still in the works to build a cemetery in Hawai'i Kai on 69 acres in the Kamilo Nui Valley, the developer said.

The Paradise Memorial Park project, a planned 60,000 burial-space cemetery, was first pitched in 2001. Last July the developer, PRM Realty Group, addressed community concerns that the dust screens were run down and blocking summer breezes.

Grading and drainage plans are before the city Department of Planning and Permitting, said Trappeur Rahn, PRM Realty Group senior vice president and asset manager for the cemetery.

Rahn said the Chicago-based PRM Realty Group, which owns the site, has hired Belt Collins to work on its grading permit application. The company hopes to begin construction by this time next year, Rahn said.

Paradise Memorial Park will be the first new cemetery on O'ahu in 50 years. Built over the next 20 to 30 years, the first phase includes about 18,000 burial spaces, niches, a chapel and a mortuary, Rahn said.