Hawaii resort featured in Elvis film to be rebuilt
The $250M projected is slated to take 3 years
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A dilapidated Hawaii resort that was once frequented by several Hollywood stars and featured in Elvis Presley's 1961 movie "Blue Hawaii" is being rebuilt.
The Coco Palms Resort, located on the island of Kauai, was damaged by Hurricane Iniki, the most powerful hurricane to hit Hawaii, in 1992.
The plan is to demolish the remaining structure and rebuild a 350-room hotel and cultural center in its place that will pay homage to the site's rich history, Patrick Manning, a managing partner of Reef Capital Partners, which owns the property, told FOX Business.
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The Coco Palms Resort retail annex where one shop on the second floor was gutted by fire in Wailua on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, is pictured on Dec. 3, 2009. (Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island via AP, File / AP Newsroom)
Reef Capital took over the property in 2018 when the previous developer defaulted on a loan. Originally, the plans were to sell the property, but Manning said that changed after he investigated its history.
The property was once home to Kauai’s last queen, Deborah Kapule, before she died in 1853. The resort opened in 1953 next to a historic coconut grove and an ancient Hawaiian fishpond. It was featured in the 1961 film "Blue Hawaii" when Presley and Joan Blackman’s characters are married.
Manning said it became "the place to be" for Hollywood celebrities. Its visitors included stars like Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth.
"We want to build it back to the state it was one hour before Hurricane Iniki destroyed it in 1992 and just pay total homage to that history rather than to try to build a new building," Manning said.
The project is estimated to cost around $250 million and take up to three years, according to Manning.
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However, some community members have been against building anything on the property for years. In 2021, nearly 15,000 people signed a Change.org petition, protesting the development saying it's considered a "sacred site."
Workers move the Coco Palms Resort unit sales sign away from the Kuamoo Road side of the former resort in Wailua, Hawaii, Sept. 13, 2007. (Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island via AP, File / AP Newsroom)
Meanwhile, at a state Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting as recently as last week, some people opposed the project because there are a number of ancestral bones buried on the property.
Cultural practitioner Joseph Kekaulike Kamai said his great-grandmother is buried there, and others are buried under the hotel, driveway and tennis courts.
Manning said he understands the communities concerns, but that it's a bad idea not to rebuild it because "otherwise it just sits there in ruins for another 30 years." He also believes they are the right developers to pay homage to its history.
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Joan Blackman and Elvis Presley during a scene from the film "Blue Hawaii." (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Manning said the new hotel and a cultural center will be built on roughly 10 acres. The building will also replicate the old resort as "best as possible," he said. However, it will be built with materials that are more sustainable and more energy efficient, according to Manning.
"I just thought this way too important to entrust someone else… to bring that history forward and continue it into its future and embrace it," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.