A draft environmental impact statement remains open for public comment through Aug. 7. Hawaii’s largest private landowner is asking the public to weigh in on its proposal to build 150 units of bungalow-style lodging at Keauhou Bay, about six miles south of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island’s leeward coast.
The Kamehameha Schools project envisions the construction of 43 two-story bungalows on 8 acres of a plateau overlooking the bay, which has attracted tourists, snowbirds, full-time residents, retail businesses and community groups. A draft environmental study of the project is out for public comment until Aug. 7.
KS owns about 54 acres at Keauhou Bay, the birthplace of Kauikeaouli, later Kamehameha III, and home to a royal compound. With a $14.6 billion endowment, KS holds 364,000 acres across various islands and runs a private school system for Hawaiian children established in 1887.
Popular activities now include boating, canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, swimming, fishing and volleyball. Nighttime manta ray tours are extremely popular. Most of the hotel bungalows would be fourplexes built to a height of 25 feet with natural building materials.
Landscaping would emphasize low-growing native plants typical of a native dryland forest ecosystem, according to the draft environmental study. The proposed project includes a “heritage management corridor” that seeks to honor King Kamehemeha III’s birth site and Native Hawaiian identity through programs that educate people ab.