Iroquois Point Project Earns National Honors

The concerted efforts of local companies that successfully restored the beach at Iroquois Point in June 2013 have gained national recognition.

American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) has awarded them with its 2014 Best Restored Beach Award. As one of only four beaches to earn the distinction, the local project led by Hunt Companies joins beach rescue missions by community members and companies across the nation.

“The beach had receded up to 300 feet in areas and had been named one of Oahu’s most eroded shorelines,” said Thomas Lee, vice president of development for Hunt Companies’ Hawaii region. “It was also clear that the beach had great potential to be an asset and amenity for the community, as it once was.”

Planning for its restoration began in 2003, and required courting approval from multiple agencies to complete the $14-million project. Various tasks were required to restore it and drastically upgrade safety. Sand from Pearl Harbor Channel, for example, was dredged and taken to the beach.

Though the company encountered a few challenges along the way, it eventually completed the largest beach restoration project in the history of Hawaii.

“Speaking for the entire team here at Hunt Companies, we were really honored that Iroquois Point was named a 2014 Best Restored Beach,” added Lee.

Sea Engineering Inc. completed the planning, design and permitting tasks, and Healy Tibbitts Builders also worked with Hunt on the project.

Involved in the approval process were the Department of the Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state Department of Health/Clean Water Branch, Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, state Historic Preservation Division, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Marine Fisheries Service.

“A benefit that is immediate as well as long term is the positive impact this pristine, restored shoreline has and will have for generations of beach-goers, both residents of the Iroquois Point community and members of the public, who are welcome to access the public beach,” said Lee.

Lee and Scott Sullivan, vice president of Sea Engineering Inc., will travel to Washington, D.C., next February to accept the award from ASBPA.