With the traditional O’o and saltwater blessing by Kahu Kamaki Kanahele, Ko Olina Ocean Marina, LLC broke ground for a 43-acre, 270-slip marina development that is just the first phase in a new wave of activity coming ashore at Oahu’s largest and most luxurious resort development.

The 43-acre private marina, which will open in January, 2000, will cater to both sportfishing and recreational boaters with spacious, floating concrete docks able to accommodate vessels up to 150 feet in length and all the services mariners expect from a world-class facility. Next on the drawing board for the 642-acre Ko Olina (“Place of Joy”) Resort & Marina development is a 750-unit time-share project and a community of 1,500 condominium homes – both still in the planning stages – for a total investment of more than $1 billion. The master-planned, gated development on the western shore of Hawaii’s principal island already boasts the award-winning Ihilani Resort and Spa; the 18-hole Ted Robinson-designed Ko Olina Golf Club; the Paradise Cove cultural park; a string of jewel-like lagoons connected by 1.5 miles of seaside pathways; the new and popular, full-service Ko Olina Wedding Chapel; and the three-year-old Fairways at Ko Olina golf course residential community.

The new marina is a welcome addition to Hawaii’s capitol island, where boat slips are notoriously scarce. It’s a boater’s dream, with a launch ramp, 33 trailer parking stalls and a fuel dock to provide gasoline, diesel and pump-out services. Limited commercial moorage will also be available. Jeff Stone, co-manager of Ko Olina Resort & Marina, said, “This private marina, the first one built in Hawaii in 30 years, is the heart of the resort; and the resort will be an anchor for the ‘second city’ of Kapolei.” Stone anticipates that the Leeward community will become a leading force in the revitalizing of Hawaii’s economy with the upcoming flush of activity at Ko Olina.

The marina is expected to provide 60 jobs. General contractor North Pacific Construction is completing the dredging of the marina and will begin installation of floating concrete docks built by Bellingham Marine in late October, 1999. Bellingham Marine, based in Bellingham, Washington, specializes in precision-engineered flotation systems. Services provided to boaters will include electricity, water, telephone and cable television hookups, gas and diesel fuel dock, marina store, laundry and restroom facilities, barbecue and picnic areas and a controlled entry to the docks.

General contractors, Armstrong Builders for the harbormaster and Koga Engineering for the marina parking and utilities, are working under the direction of architect Fabrizio Medosi of Pacific Atelier, civil engineer Harvey Hida of Hida Okamoto & Associates and landscape architect Mike Miyabara of Miyabara & Associates. This portion of the development is expected to be completed in February, 2000. After a period of quiet following Ko Olina’s initial development in the mid-1990s, today’s groundbreaking ceremony is the symbolic beginning of a new era, a move to realizing the vision of a multifaceted “Place of Joy” beckoning to residents and visitors alike.

From Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227. Website: www.bellingham-marine.com.