Tower decision to follow public hearing

The developer of the Ritz-Carlton Residences Wai­kiki Beach, under construction at 2121 Kuhio Ave., is seeking permission from the city Planning and Permitting Department to proceed with a second tower.

The company needs a Wai­kiki special design permit to move forward on its plan to develop a new 39-story, 350-foot resort mixed-use tower on a nearly 2.6-acre lot at 2139 Kuhio Ave. The city is expected to decide on the application following a public hearing that will take place at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Mission Memorial Auditorium, 550 S. King St.

At the hearing, PACREP 2, the developer, will share the most current plans and features of the proj­ect, which it said have been modified to address community concerns. PACREP 2 said the proj­ect’s new stacked design and curved orientation create a smaller building footprint and thinner profile.

The design, which features greater separation and air space between the adjacent 2121 Kuhio condominium hotel tower, also includes sizable building setbacks and street-level green space.

The Waikiki Neighborhood Board, which is on rec­ord with the city as opposing the 2139 Kuhio proj­ect, responded more favorably when PACREP 2 presented these modifications during their monthly meeting May 14.

"We initially recommended denial of the permit for 2139 Kuhio, but they came back to us and changed their design around. Everyone agrees that it’s a better manifestation of the design criteria and that they are moving toward compliance," said Neighborhood Board member Jeff Merz. "They’ve been more thoughtful in their design and in their givebacks to the community — our only caveat is that we would like to see these conditions codified in their permit. We especially want to protect the open green space makai of 2139 Kuhio."