State orders structural inspection of Hilo Banyan Drive hotel site

The state ordered a structural inspection of the former Country Club Condominium Hotel at 121 Banyan Drive in Hilo, a step that could determine when, or whether, the long-idle property can be sold, repaired or redeveloped. The decision puts safety and condition at the center of any future investment in one of Banyan Drive’s most prominent parcels.

The inspection follows action earlier in July, when the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Land Division awarded a contract tied to the property. That makes the building’s condition more than a planning issue: until the state knows whether the structure can be repaired, reused or must come down, any buyer or developer faces a difficult road ahead.

The Country Club site has been through years of shifting state plans. In March 2018, DLNR issued Request for Interest No. BDH-1-FY18, seeking interest in demolishing existing hotel structures and building a new hotel at Banyan Drive. The Board of Land and Natural Resources later approved publication of an RFQ/RFP for lease of improved public lands at the site on Dec. 13, 2019, then denied a contested case hearing request by Oceanfront 121, Inc. on Jan. 24, 2020. The board selected Tower Development, Inc. on Sept. 24, 2021, but canceled the RFQ/RFP process and rescinded its prior action on May 27, 2022.

DLNR then issued a new RFQ/RFP on Sept. 1, 2022, this time for repair, renovation and operation of the former hotel. On March 24, 2023, the board selected Savio SB Growth Venture LLC and issued a right-of-entry permit to assess the physical condition of the property and prepare construction documents. Five weeks later, on April 28, 2023, the board rescinded that selection.

For Hilo, the stakes extend beyond a single building. Banyan Drive is a gateway to the Hilo Bayfront, hotel district, parks and tourism-related businesses, and a deteriorating site there can shape how residents and visitors experience the area. A DLNR Banyan Drive fact sheet says the state owns most of the land on the Waiakea Peninsula and manages six leases and revocable permits on Banyan Drive that generate about $1 million annually.

A January 2025 Tribune-Herald story described the state as once again stuck with a decrepit Banyan Drive building after the previous lessee of the former Country Club property. The latest inspection order signals the state wants a clear structural read before it commits to another sale, lease or redevelopment path for one of Hilo’s most recognizable waterfront properties.