KAILUA-KONA — The Kailua Village Design Commission this week signaled its approval for Kona Brewing Co.’s proposed brewery, recommending only some minor changes to the proposed plan.
The brewery, expected to be completed in 2019, will enable the company to produce an estimated 100,000 barrels of beer a year.
The company broke ground on the facility in March 2016 and on Tuesday received a recommendation for approval from the Design Commission with a couple conditions.
Those conditions include replacing stucco on a lower wall facing Kuakini Highway with a rock veneer, installing a low rock wall along the property line at Kuakini Highway and treating the large wall that faces Pawai Place “in an artistic manner, such as a wall mural.”
Finally, the commission also included a condition that a fire flair — which will be installed as part of the brewery’s plan for a biodigester that will treat some wastewater and contribute to its power needs — also be treated “in an artistic manner.”
The recommendations were sent to the planning director for consideration.
Cindy Wang, senior brand director for Kona Brewing Co., said the company is excited about the Design Commission’s action and that it will keep the brewery on track to start construction this year and be fully operational in early 2019.
“We think their feedback was great,” she said, “and are excited to get started on the next steps, which include getting bids for the building materials and brewing equipment, which will be the heart of our new brewery.”
New hotel proposal to return
An upcoming meeting of the Kailua Village Design Commission is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 19 for commissioners to consider an updated proposal for a new hotel on Henry Street.
The commission last month deferred taking action on the proposed four-story hotel after raising concerns about its color scheme and the area’s topography.
Henry Street follows a downhill slope from Queen Kaahumanu Highway to Kuakini Highway. Because of that slope, the northwest corner of the property where the hotel is to be built sits about 15-20 feet above the road’s surface.
Commissioner Mark Van Pernis said at the meeting in August that he was concerned about how the hotel would look to motorists driving up and down Henry Street, something Commission Vice Chair Shaun Roth said would be difficult to visualize without more renderings.
In a new packet submitted to the commission, architect Fritz Harris-Glade included some street-level images from Henry Street that also indicated where the hotel would be.
The new packet also shows a different layout of the proposed buildings, increased landscaping and addresses the treatment of an archaeological site in the area — all concerns the commission raised last month.
As for the color, the submittal proposes earth tones rather than the “barn red” Van Pernis previously said was “not acceptable.”
Harris-Glade said Wednesday he was very happy with the feedback he received from commissioners at August’s meeting.
“I think at the end of the day it’s going to be a better project,” he said.