Dive Brief:
- Atlantis Resorts is close to finalizing a deal to build a trademark, $2 billion ocean-themed resort on a 15-acre parcel of Disney’s Aulani Resort in Ko Olina, HI, according to Hawaii News Now.
- Sources familiar with the project told the news site that the resort will be similar to Atlantis' property in Dubai, featuring an interactive aquarium, a dolphin encounter and a shark habitat. Accommodations will include a mix of hotel, condo and timeshare units.
- The project, originally announced in 2005, has been stalled for 11 years, possibly due to a disagreement over whether gambling should be included on the property. There is no schedule yet for construction start and completion dates, as the project still must gain permitting and regulatory approval.
Dive Insight:
The estimated $2 billion price tag is impressive, but it is only half as much as the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas hotel-casino project that Malaysian-based developer Genting Berhad plans for the Las Vegas Strip on the site of the old Stardust Hotel and Casino. The Chinese-themed project will include a 3,307-room tower with more than 657,000 square feet of public spaces, a movie theater, a convention center, a 29,350-square-foot lake and a Chinese garden.
Genting said it also has plans for a 175,000 square foot casino and possibly an aquarium, panda exhibit, indoor water park and a replica of the Great Wall of China.
Another high-profile Hawaii project that is currently stalled is the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on top of Mauna Kea. Native Hawaiian groups say that Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, is sacred land and prevented construction crews from working for much of last year. Earlier this month, the Hawaii Supreme Court revoked the project’s permit, and now the telescope project developers say they are in limbo awaiting further instruction from the courts.
