{"id":1323967,"date":"2019-03-18T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T10:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/?p=1323967"},"modified":"2019-03-18T10:39:10","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T20:39:10","slug":"buyer-beware-oceanfront-homes-keep-going-up-despite-rising-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/2019\/03\/buyer-beware-oceanfront-homes-keep-going-up-despite-rising-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"Buyer Beware: Oceanfront Homes Keep Going Up Despite Rising Seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he waves lap indifferently against the rocky revetment that guards a crumbling stretch of Kamehameha Highway in Kaaawa.<\/span><\/p>\n

Immediately on the other side of this coastal road that connects several windward Oahu communities, workers are framing up the wooden beams of a new two-story house.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sturdy Foundations<\/a>, a Honolulu residential development company owned by Amanda and Michael Gregg, bought the empty 6,000-square-foot lot in October for $410,000 and by November had a permit to build a 1,700-square-foot home on it. <\/span><\/p>\n

No one from the company returned a call seeking comment for this story. But it’s clear they plan to sell the property as soon as it\u2019s done. The Sturdy Foundations website advertises an oceanfront home, just steps from Kaaawa Beach. A slideshow features artist\u2019s renderings and photos of a palm leaning over a smooth stretch of sand.<\/span><\/p>\n

But on a recent Monday morning, there is little to no beach. The tides fluctuate, and there is sand at certain times, but the beach is disappearing as sea levels rise and erosion intensifies.<\/span><\/p>\n