Coco Palms site should be housing or a park
Last week’s Your View question had 272 votes for Coco Palms having some sort of community use and 464 votes for it being a resort. Was there a call-out to the tourism industry to get out the vote for Coco Palms being a resort? Another resort, no. More affordable housing, a park, yes. In my opinion, when tourism rebounds it should be no more than 50% of what it was before the virus shutdown. Kaua‘i has an opportunity to re-define its economy. It won’t be easy. More of our own food supply, some modest manufacturing, thinking differently than what’s been done before. Just not another resort and relying on tourism to be the kingpin.
Mark Perry, Lihu‘e
Let’s talk about Coco Palms
With the news we’ve been having recently, the shootings, the protests, the coronavirus, and whatever news we’ve seen for the past weeks, why don’t we divert our attentions and focus on something that has been in the news for 28 years? Let’s talk about Coco Palms.
It’s been sitting there in disrepair since 1992, and the so-many would-be owners were all there, once upon a time, and tried to make a go of it. There were talks about breaking it down, demolishing it, making it into a park, a playground, a museum, and a place we can enjoy and have some fun. But on the other hand we have those who believed, thought and bull-headed believed and thought it would be great just to rebuild it, not taking into consideration traffic, traffic lights, the overhead bridge for people to get from the hotel to the beach, and the congestion we would probably be faced with.
The last we’ve heard about the Coco Palms hotel was Chad Waters and Tyler Greene were going to develop it, but somehow they defaulted, and lost it to a new company who I believe is or was Stillwater. To my understanding they had just one more of the required applications that needed to be approved by July or Aug. 31, 2019, before they could build. So what now? We haven’t heard anything since and, honestly, nothing about Stillwater and the Coco Palms. And what about Chad Waters and Tyler Greene? Are they still involved?
Can anyone make sense of what’s going on? That place is really an eyesore, and something drastic must be done now. And why the hold-ups? Politics again?
If it were me, I’d have it torn down. But who am I? Well, build it, then.
Ray Domingo, Lihu‘e
Anyone driving past Coco Palms can see the damage that has been done to the concrete structure by years of exposure. The rebar within is rusting and the concrete spalling. Inaction has destroyed what could have been a usable framework. The waste is terrible, but it’s time to face it. End the eyesore. If we entertain the folly that another developer is going to turn it into a usable resort property (and who will now, in the time of COVID-19?), give them six moths to remove the existing structure or they default on their contract and the property reverts to the county.
“see the damage that has been done to the concrete structure by years of exposure. The rebar within is rusting and the concrete spalling”
A perfect metaphor for liberal utopian government.
So helpful.
Mr. Perry, you say bring back 1/2 the tourism pre Covid19 ? You mean toss 1/2 the unemployed to the curb leaving them to stay unemployed and broke getting worse ! ? Well that is pretty far out but not far thinking for your neighbors’ well being.
Say, how long you lived on Kauai, and what is your source of income, seems it is not in the tourist industry and seems you’re not unemployed, or perhaps you are enjoying Kauai on outside income on the backs of the rest of us.
Another thing is if you are not elderly and if you have no pre-existing conditions like heart/stroke, diabetes, obesity, cancers, or liver, kidney, lung, or digestive system failures and sickness, and if you are not on 1 or more long term prescription drugs for those pre-existing conditions, then you should be happy to get infected with the virus and develop your own immunity to the virus and continue enjoying your life here in what was paradise just a few months ago.
If you have had NO exposure and thus NO immunity, well you can only blame it on the KEEP KAUA’I STERILE advocates. No Virus Exposure, No Immunity, perpetuates KEEPING KAUA’I IN FEAR FOREVER, and ignorant we might add.
And people with no medical education are even saying as to the promised Vaccine, “I’ll Take 2, Please, 1 in each arm, just to be sure my Fear goes away.”
Makes sense what with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s probable recommendation on the Vaccine’s up coming vaccination (notice the word “NATION” is in the word vacciNATION), yeah the intention is for the whole nation to be vaccinated, already the Pharmaceutical Industry has 80% of the Nation on 1 or more Prescription Drugs, might as well let them finish the job, and make it a 100%, and hope there is no sad disappointment.
After all the the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has allowed all the chronic degenerative End of Life Diseases to run virtually out of control along with the so called necessary End of Life Prescription Drugs whose sales are also off the charts and whose Stocks are doing marvelous, not to mention that Disease Prevention is NON-Existent.
For proof look to the statistics even a 3rd grader can decipher on the virus cases and deaths with the flu’s in all the preceding years’ flu’s and the current Covid19 one.
Out Of Control, and NO PREVENTION, yep, we should follow their Guidelines, makes perfect sense even to an idiot.
And why are the only people making income money off the Covid19 virus remaining silent when they are the supposed experts and professionals we are trusting. Could they be clueless and just letting CHANCE take one? Shouldn’t we be hearing from actual practicing doctors, instead of sit-at-the-desk doctors making $400,000 a year. We are under the Mask Rule, are the real practicing doctors under a GAG ORDER?
What plausible reason could there be that the political and medical so called “authorities” want us to NOT get the Virus Exposure and then automatically develop our own natural immunity, is the sale of the vaccine that important to them. Gee, maybe it is ?
The definition of FEAR is the UNKNOWN.
Clearly the majority Fear the Unknown virus. Read the comments, FEAR is reflected in most of them. They don’t trust the virus, they think, will I get it, or won’t I get it? If they get it will they survive or will they die. They FEAR the Virus.
But they know even less about the Vaccine, yet they have NO FEAR of the Vaccine, some are even begging for it, some want the double dose, even though many people who are vaccined get the sickness anyway, and some die, but usually not until they get to the hospital under expert care.
Would it make more sense if the Authorities, merely just the most popular at the ballot box, without medical expertise, relying on a few desk doctors for advice, let society and the economy carry on as usual fully employed and businesses opened, and living normally; AND INSTEAD invest time , money, nutrition, and care, using the workers’ tax dollars, to provide the best of living care and survival for the elderly with the pre-editing conditions, conditions that are diseases that are killing them more than the virus is. After all the dead horse covered in flies, the flies did not kill the horse.
The Strength of the Health of the Individual is the PREVENTION of Virus complication or death, otherwise it is None or Mild Symptoms, or a few days Bedrest wirth virus exposure, this is covered in the statistics.
I love conspiracy theories! So entertaining!
Tear down the eyesore and widen the road!
Kudos to Ray Domingo, for telling it like it is. Kauai needs another resort about as much as I need another hole in my head. Bumper to bumper is no way to travel!
Coco Palms: the Stonehenge of Kauai. People from all over the world will come & marvel at this ancient relic. Come see it now before the sea takes it!
Yes! “the Stonehenge of Kauai”. I like it! Maybe we can add some giant “Easter Island” heads!
2 good letters today regarding the COCO PALMS. It is the wrong place for any resort these days since the county has done nothing for decades about the lack road capacity. The hotel is functionally obsolete before it’s even re-built, so lets not build it. The island is on resort overload as it is. Time for a change. Time for residents to be heard about overloading the east side with large projects.
Agree tourism should be reduced by 50% ( or more). It was destroying the island, we all know that. Set limits and charge more to mainlanders and it will be a wash, and resume quality of life we had before it got so crazy out here.
Coco Palms is an eyesore. Best bet is to knock it down, and let the greenery reclaim it. Leave the land development free.
Mark…lot’s (more) of hot air about what “we” should do with the Coco Palms site. For a change why don’t you and other “we should” types form a Hui to purchase the property. That way “you” can do with it as you please. That is if you can get by the obstructionist county planning agency, et. al., and county council without being bankrupted.
The county and it’s bureaucrats have stymied this project for decades and cost all the various owners millions of dollars. Chief among the obstructionists is Mike Dahilig the past planning director and who now sits at the right hand of our fearless leader DK.
So as the saying goes…put YOUR money were YOUR mouth is.
RG DeSoto
Another low quality contribution.
Don’t we all already have our money there? Everyone, even you, are qualified to speak on the matter. Just… some do it better.
“Chief among the obstructionists is Mike Dahilig”
RG, I hear he knows how to use email. Who knew? I’m still a little skeptical because I’ve met him in person before.
Wasn’t Wailua the home of the Alii? It’s a beautiful beach and river. How about getting the highway away from the beach, and Kapaa as well. The bane of tourist towns is when the main highway runs right thru. Kapaa traffic is everyones least favorite part of tourism. A mauka highway with exits to various neighborhoods would keep everybody going anywhere from having to slow down or stop for every light. You think you want to work in manufacturing? It’s mind numbing repetious work that doesn’t pay all that well. Tourism is great. People pay to hangout, then go home. Kauai isn’t really designed for it and we all pay the price. Kauai is designed to haul cane and house field workers. Whatever happens to Coco Palms should be part of an organized islandwide plan with something for everyone.
Once you retire the double digit millions in debt, you will have the honor of the most expensive park in Hawaii if not the USA.
There is not even a remote chance of this.
You just look dreadfully silly suggesting such a naive and unsophisticated idea!
I worked at Coco Palms for 1 day trying to sell big dollar jewelry to
tourist! It was hilarious! A lot of history on that corner! Those days are long gone! That property should be a park now!
We don’t need another resort! Once the virus is pau, traffic will be nuts again! Common sense needed by our local government on this issue!