$35-Million Kona Kai Building Plan Unveiled

Alan Bond, multimillionaire Australian yachtsman and businessman, Tuesday unveiled a $35-million plan to turn a recent acquisition, the Kona Kai Club on Shelter Island, into an international “five-star” resort.

But his plan, presented to the San Diego Unified Port District Commissioners, brought a quick protest by Point Loma residents who fear it would shatter neighborhood quiet and ruin scenic views.

Although the commissioners showed support for the plan, they agreed to postpone a decision on the development until their March 7 meeting and called for an updated traffic study to be completed by the Port District staff in the interim.

Bond, whose yacht won the America’s Cup in 1983, bought a 75% interest in the Kona Kai Club in November through his Bond Corp. Holdings Ltd. of Australia, which owns Australia’s largest brewery. He told the commissioners Tuesday he hoped to have the project finished before 1991, because the upgraded Kona Kai Club could be a “useful addition” to the Australian syndicate’s challenge for the America’s Cup in San Diego.

He said he wants to convert the 37-year-old Kona Kai into a five-star destination resort with the new facility largely open to the public rather than run as a private club.

‘Beginning of a Return to Glory’ “This really is the beginning of a return to glory for the Kona Kai Club,” said architect Dale Combs, who presented a scale model of the project to the commissioners. The plan calls for the demolition of nine buildings--with only the present main building to remain. Four new buildings would be built, as well as 318 new hotel rooms, 4,000 square feet of retail shop space, two swimming pools and 45 boat slips.

The highlight of the renovation would be lush, tropical-style landscaping, Combs said. A two-story parking garage would be built underground. Combs said builders hope to being work in September.

Residents Not So Friendly

Although the commissioners showed their favor for the project, the natives weren’t nearly so friendly. John Butler of Point Loma gave the board a petition signed by more than 200 residents who oppose the project.

“The increase in the number of rooms and commercial shop space is an unreasonable expansion,” Butler said. “It violates the historical commitment of the harbor department at the time of the first lease in 1952.”

Urging the Port District to set policies on density and traffic on Shelter Island, Butler said, “We think this is not the spot at this time on this property for a destination hotel.”

He and other opponents argued that the board’s apparent willingness to grant a waiver to a 41-foot height limit for new buildings on Shelter Island would set a dangerous precedent. The project includes plans for a 58-foot pagoda, in keeping with club’s current style.

William De Leeuw, who owns the remaining 25% interest in the Kona Kai Club, said designers could keep the height to 39 feet by using flat roofs but said that slanting roofs and a pagoda would be more attractive. The height of a pagoda on the club’s main building is 60 feet and higher than anything in the proposed development, De Leeuw said.

Butler and other residents, including representatives of the Point Loma Village Assn. and the Peninsula Planning Group, also took exception to a study on amount of traffic that would be generated by a world-class resort.

Doug Giddings, former chairman of the San Diego Park and Recreation Board and the attorney for the initial Kona Kai Club lessee, said the original plan called for respecting the surrounding area as primarily a residential neighborhood.

Joan Cairncross, a lifetime member of the Kona Kai Club, complained that the development would wipe out residents’ views of the harbor, the Coronado Bridge and lights from downtown’s high-rises.

Hedy St. John of the Peninsula Planning Group predicted that the community would be “overwhelmed by the style and bulk” of the buildings.