Friends of Coco Palms

The Friends of Coco Palms is a group that is seeking to purchase the defunct Coco Palms resort and recreate it as a cultural and historical gathering place for all of the people. Coco Palms is the dilapidated and fenced off resort on the mauka side in Wailua. Once the premier resort on the island, it is now an eyesore. The land belonged to the Hawaiian royalty and contains fishponds, temples and birthing sites. The group received a grant from the state for creating a plan to buy the property, demolish the old buildings and manage the site over the long term. The Friends of Coco Palms is also being supported by the Kauai Public Land Trust.

Senator Hooser said “Securing a $234,000 grant from the state will enable the Friends of Coco Palms to make significant progress towards acquiring the property for public benefit. Now is the time to finally create a viable and culturally relevant plan for the Coco Palms that will benefit all of Kaua‘i.”

My cynical side thinks that despite getting a three year extension to the permits to redevelop the Coco Palms, the developer who owns the property knows there isn't much of a chance to get the resort rebuilt given the overbuilding of recent years and the steep drop in visitors. And so the state is trying to figure out a way to bail him out. Regardless of the motive, my hope is that the end result is a public space where local people can enjoy their island, the Hawaiians can honor their culture and history and visitors can come to learn and respect it.

Alan