Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 6, 1 June 2002 — OHA considers Kakaʻako [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA considers Kakaʻako

By Naomi Sodetani OHA took a step toward acquiring a permanent home when its Land Committee expressed interest in developing an office complex at the historic blue-stone pump station on Ala Moana Blvd, On May 14, the committee approved up to $75,000 to hire a consultant to look into the feasibility of developing several parcels of ceded lands in Kaka'ako,

The request will go before the full OHA board this month and, if approved, a lease proposal will be submitted to the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, the state agency that regulates Kaka'ako development, The 3,2 acres of Kaka'ako property OHA is interested in one bordering Honolulu Harbor, are situated near where the new University of Hawai'i medical school and research center will be built.

The committee envisions that building an office complex will provide the agency with a permanent, accessible home base where it ean better serve beneficiaries, said OHA Administrator Clyde Namu'o, "The plan, ultimately, is to provide enough ineome to OHA so that our space becom.es rent free because everyone else occupying the building will be covering the debt service," Nāmu'o said, Nāmu'o said one idea for the proposed Kaka'ako property is a ten-story office tower with mixed-

use zoning that will allow OHA to lease remaining space to the university and to other agencies and non-profit organizations that primarily serve the Hawaiian eommunity, such as the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Alu Like, "That's the scheme we're looking at in terms of making things work," The 102-year pump station sits on five parcels edged by Ala Moana, Keawe and īlalo See KAKA'AKO on page 18

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KAKA'AKO from page 4 streets. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the site has fallen into disrepair since 1955 as several plans to develop the land have fallen through. Most recently, Wolfgang Puek had announced plans for a restaurant there. OHA trustees have been seeking new, permanent headquarters since its ten-year lease at Pacific Plaza on Kapi'olani Boulevard expired in February 2001. OHA's current rent is $612,000 a year for its fifth- and 12th-floor spaces. About 18 months ago, OHA looked into purchasing the historic downtown post office building, but the plan was scuttled when some trustees objected to the exorbitant cost of renovating the old federal building, including extensive asbestos removal. ■