BHG Aloha Defers Its Wild Ginger Application
An application for a Special Management Area Use Permit from BHG Aloha LLC sat on the Windward Planning Commission's agenda for its 1 October 2026 meeting. The company does business as Wild Ginger Hotel. The application seeks to construct and operate a 30-room hotel complex on the 1.6-acre site at 100 Puueo Street in Hilo.
Commission chairman Louis Daniele III told the meeting in the Hawaii County Council Chambers: "This matter has been deferred by the applicant." The commission gave no reason for the deferral and held no further discussion on the item.
The 1911 Inn the Fire Closed
The property carried a hotel built in 1911. Department of Public Works Building Division records show the fire of 22 October 2025 burned about 95 percent of the structure, and the remainder was deemed irreparable. The fire killed 66-year-old hotel resident Gerald O'Grady.
BHG Aloha bought the site for $3.4 million in July 2024, according to county property tax records. The state zones the land medium density-urban, and the county zoning is hotel-resort.
The Replacement the Applicant Drew
The plans call for five buildings. Three two-story guest buildings would hold 10 rooms each. A one-story standalone front-desk building and a one-story 1,395-square-foot standalone cafe complete the set. The site plan adds a swimming pool with a 4,120-square-foot lounge and pool deck and a 32-stall paved parking area.
The application describes the scope as a new two-story, 30-room hotel complex. The two-story figure describes the guest buildings rather than the number of buildings on the parcel.
Opposition From a Contractor Group and a Neighbor
Pacific Resource Partnership filed a petition seeking to oppose the project in a contested case hearing. The group describes itself as representing the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters and more than 250 contractors, and Executive Director Nathaniel Kinney leads it.
Henry "Hank" Correa Jr., a Hilo real estate agent and developer, filed a second petition. Correa and his wife Kristilee own a neighboring four-unit apartment building at 80 Puueo Street. "The albizia trees on the subject property are large enough that, if one were to fall toward our property, it could destroy our apartment building and potentially cause serious injury or loss of life," Correa said in his petition.
In a 24 September 2026 letter to the Planning Department, Correa wrote that he is also concerned the owner may obtain the entitlement with the intention of selling the property. He asked the county to condition approval on professional removal or adequate mitigation of the hazardous albizia trees within six months, and to void the approval if that work is not done.
The Assessment the Applicant Says the Project Does Not Need
Lawyers for Pacific Resource Partnership dispute Planning Director Jeff Darrow's recommended approval, which carries a long list of conditions, and the applicant's position that the project does not require an environmental assessment. Abigail Holden, Andrew Recktenwald and Christine Terada stated in a legal brief that a biological survey the applicant submitted, prepared by Geometrician Associates, omits much of the information a draft environmental assessment requires.
The brief lists the review triggers it says apply. The site sits in the Puueo District, which is listed in the State Inventory of Historic Places. The brief cites zoning that conflicts with the area's medium-density urban designation in the General Plan, the potential presence of the endangered Hawaiian hawk and Hawaiian hoary bat along with native plant species, and the need for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for storm water discharges tied to construction.
The Cost, the Horizon and the Ownership
The application puts the construction cost between $10 million and $12.5 million, excluding demolition of the remaining structures and pre-construction site clearing. A permit the county issued to BHG Aloha on 29 July 2026 covers demolition and removal of the fire-damaged structures and debris, removal of associated infrastructure and hazardous albizia trees, clearing of overgrown non-native vegetation, and best management practices to protect Waipilopilo Stream, which abuts the property.
If the SMA use permit is granted, the applicant plans to seek plan approval and building permits from the county and to start construction within two years. The application states the hotel could be operational within approximately five years of permit approval. That projection is the applicant's.
BHG Aloha is a subsidiary of Bhangu Hospitality. The byline lists Surinderjeet Singh of Renton, Washington as its managing partner.