[font=Verdana]The sale of the old Coco Palms has been completed; opening the way for the demolition of what was the flagship Polynesian-style hotel in [/font][font=Verdana]Hawaii[/font][font=Verdana] in the 1950s and the rebuilding, as much as possible, of a new resort in the style and grace of the old one, top government and business representatives have announced.

The hotel has been closed since 1992, when Hurricane 'Iniki raked the island, causing more than $1 billion in damages to properties, including the hotel. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The hotel wields local and international prominence because it was home to Queen Deborah Kapule, Kaua'i's last reigning queen, and was the site of the famous wedding scene in Elvis Presley's film "Blue Hawaii," produced in 1961.[/font][font=Verdana]

The old hotel will be "replicated" in the planning for the new project, said Richard Weiser, one of the key principals for Coco Palm Ventures.

"The name of the game was to bring back as much of the memory of that grand hotel resort," Weiser said. "(There will be) four stories in the front ... same footprints. Building sizes are basically the same, although there will be some larger units," he said.

The price of the sale to a San Francisco interest was not disclosed.

Work on the $220 million project is expected to start this summer, followed by a grand opening scheduled for the summer of 2008, Weiser said.

The project will boast 48 bungalows, although the company has county approvals to build 104 hotel units instead, and 196 luxury condominium units.

The condominium units will be sold and will not be used as timeshare units, according to Kaua'i real estate broker Donna M. Apisa.

Apisa's company, Ocean-front Realty International Inc., located at the Princeville resort, will have exclusive selling rights for the condominiums.

The hotel will also feature a spa and spaces for restaurants and an overhead footpath that will run between the hotel and Wailua Bay.

The deal involved the purchase of 16. 4 acres that are privately owned and the transfer of 17 acres of state leasehold lands, on which are found Hawaiian artifacts that Weiser's group has promised to protect.

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