Envision Laie: 222-room Marriott is one step closer to calling Koolauloa home

NORTH SHORE—Hundreds gathered at the Kahuku High Cafeteria on Wednesday, June 1 to testify on plans for a new hotel in the area that is part of the larger Envision Laie development.

The Honolulu City and County Committee on Zoning met to discuss the application filed by Hawaii Reserves Inc. (HRI) for a Special Management Area Use Permit (SMP). The permit is necessary to build the proposed 222-room, four-story Marriott Hotel because of its proximity to the shoreline and is required before construction can begin.

After two hours of community input, both in support and opposition, the Committee on Zoning approved the application. The proposal will go before the full City Council in July.

The hotel is planned to be constructed at the former site of the demolished 49-room Laie Inn and is part of the larger controversial project Envision Laie, also proposed by HRI and guided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The project will, most significantly, create new subdivisions collectively called Malaekahana just west of Laie that will rival the populations of the other towns in the Koolauloa region.

Envision Laie planners describe the hotel’s theme as “contemporary Hawaiian.” The hotel’s buildings will be staggered between one, three, and four stories in an attempt to stay within the City 40-foot height limit. Construction has been estimated to cost approximately $25 million and will measure approximately 150,000 square feet.

The hotel would also include a pool, restaurant, and banquet/meeting hall. There are also plans for a new stand-alone McDonald’s, a new two-story commercial building, and the relocation of Laie’s current Chevron gas station, according to an architect working on the project.

The Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program describes the SMP permit as part of a regulatory system that is the “cornerstone” of the program and provides guidance through State law for managing coastal development. Each of Hawaii’s counties has its own guidelines and rules for SMP permits indicating where the SMP permits system regulates development within a geographically defined area extending from the shoreline inland. Within each county, SMP boundaries may range from about 100 yards to several miles inland from the shoreline.

Jeff Overton of Group 70, the architectural firm working on the hotel, said at the meeting: “There will be no significant impact to the coastal zone. We believe the financial impact will be good, creating 153 jobs, 75 directly open to the community, and it will keep families together.

Hawaii Travel Guide: Polynesian Cultural Center

Brunch was the Princess Kaiulani hotel buffet in the Pikake Terrace , which is a fancied-up name for the large seating areas between the lobby and the pool area.  Almost everywhere we ate the entire trip was outside, which was a huge feat for NavyGuy.  Back home (in Wisconsin), it’s like pulling teeth to get him to eat a meal out of doors.  In Hawaii though, where it’s warm, there’s no bugs, and he was on his best honey-versary behavior, there were no sighs, moans, outward complaints, or loss of teeth.  I thought the brunch was overpriced for the quality of the food, but NavyGuy thought everything he ate was just fine.  They had an omelet station, lots of fresh fruit, cereal, pastries, and the other usual suspects (scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc.).

Dinner was the Ali’i (Ah-lee-ee… means royalty in Hawaiian) Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center (coming in the next post).

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