The state appears ready to move forward with demolishing the former Country Club Condominium Hotel on Hilo’s Banyan Drive, with lawmakers backing roughly $14M–$15M for demolition, grading, and site work.
The six-story property has been vacant since early 2025, after redevelopment talks stalled and Banyan Drive Management walked away from its proposed long-term lease deal. Since then, the site has mostly become an expensive security headache, with the state paying to keep it from becoming another Uncle Billy’s-style squatter and fire problem.
But this also appears to signal a bigger pivot: future development on Banyan Drive may move inland because of sea-level rise concerns, leaving some shoreline parcels as open space instead of rebuilding directly on the water.
Lawmakers are also discussing the possible acquisition of the Grand Naniloa Golf Course as part of the broader redevelopment puzzle. That seems to make a lot of sense. Too much land planning in Hawaiʻi happens parcel by parcel, with no larger vision until the damage is already done.
The bigger developers have figured this out. Look at Howard Hughes and Kakaʻako: whether you love every tower or not, Ward Village shows the power of having a coordinated, long-term plan instead of a haphazard approach.
If Banyan Drive is truly going to be reimagined, Hilo needs that same kind of bigger-picture thinking, just with a version that actually fits Hilo.
Demolition may finally clear away the physical blight. The harder question is whether Hilo has a real master plan waiting on the other side.
