JACKSONVILLE, FL – Haskell was awarded an Army NAF IMCOM G-9 design-build contract for the Hale Koa Hotel, Maile Tower Refurbishment Project, Honolulu, Hawaii. The Hale Koa Hotel, which means House of the Warrior in Hawaiian, is one of only four Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) resorts around the world, located on Waikiki Beach and owned by the United States Department of Defense for the use of all active and retired military personnel and their families. The total project cost is expected to exceed $40 million and construction is planned to be completed by the end of 2018.
The design-build scope includes complete interior renovations of the 12 story Maile tower and 396 guest rooms. Design is underway with an anticipated construction start in April of 2017. Haskell is committed to the timely delivery of these improvements with as little impact to the hotel’s operations as possible. The Haskell design-build team came up with an innovative way of refurbishing the tower one half at a time so as to minimize the inconvenience to staff and guests and expedite the turnover of the newly renovated rooms.
The Hale Koa is located on the grounds of Fort DeRussy, which has evolved immensely from 1906, when it was sold as a 72-acre parcel of “undesirable” land to the US Army. Battery Randolph was built at the east end of Fort DeRussy (now an Army Museum) in 1911 and the fort played many significant roles during WWII. However, even with all of these military accomplishments Fort DeRussy was still not “desirable” enough for grand social events – until 1975, when the Hale Koa Hotel celebrated its grand opening. A traditional Hawaiian ceremony, complete with a royal procession, officially opened the hotel. From this celebrated opening until today, the Hale Koa Hotel remains an all-ranks, all-service military resort providing a first-class vacation experience without regard to an individual’s status or rank.
