LAHAINA, Maui — Perched on Maui’s westernmost edge, nine condominium towers at Kahana Bay offer owners and guests a sweeping oceanfront panorama with distant views of Molokai and Lanai and an up-close seat to the seasonal parade of breaching humpback whales.
But the tradeoff of this water’s edge location is the anticipatory dread of watching the sea steadily erode the beach and the value of the coastal real estate.
The ocean has destroyed condominium pool decks, cabanas, stairs and walkways. Seawalls installed to protect the shoreline have only worsened the problem. Thousands of sandbags piled up are merely a Band-Aid to buy time to find a more lasting solution.