Kona Village Resort eyes 2021 reopening

KAILUA-KONA — The Kona Village Resort could potentially reopen in 2021, a decade after sustaining heavy damage from the 2011 tsunami.

That’s according to Dave Eadie of Kennedy Wilson, the real estate investment firm that in 2016 agreed with Kamehameha Schools to work toward reopening the iconic destination.

On Thursday the Big Island’s Leeward Planning Commission approved a five-year extension to complete expansion and renovations at the North Kona resort project.

Kona Village Resort, located just north of the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, originally opened in 1965, running for more than four decades until the 2011 tsunami damaged utility lines and about 20 of the 125 bungalows, two restaurants, the main office and activity center, according to West Hawaii Today archives.