Condotel a ‘tombstone,’ opponents say

Representatives of the city Department of Planning and Permitting got more than an earful of negative comments at a public hearing Tuesday about the orientation of a planned $180 million condominium-hotel tower proposed for Waikiki.

The project known as 2121 Kuhio, or The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach, was derided as a tombstone, an ugly wall, a sore thumb, a monstrosity, a win-lose proposition and a bad precedent by some of the two dozen community members who almost unanimously opposed the design of the 37-story tower.

The tower is positioned with its long axis parallel to the mountains and ocean, providing all 361 units with expansive ocean views.

Project detractors at the hearing said such an orientation violates Waikiki Special District Design guidelines that call for a building’s long axis to run perpendicular to the mountains and ocean in order to preserve mountain views and natural ventilation.

Representatives of the developer, Los Angeles-based PACREP LLC, told DPP hearings officer Anthony Ching and staff planner Joyce Shoji that the proposed tower orientation better supports another design guideline to protect views up and down Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues. They also said the design provides more landscaped public space fronting Kuhio.

"We strongly believe the orientation of the building enhances and amplifies the pedestrian experience," said Scott Glass, a principal of New York-based Guerin Glass Architects working for PACREP.

Glass said the tower’s orientation "bridges" different requirements of the special district design guidelines.

DPP will determine whether the project complies with the district design guidelines and should be granted a special district permit representing the last major discretionary approval needed by PACREP.

The Honolulu City Council voted 7-2 on Jan. 30 to approve a height limit extension from 300 feet to 350 feet for the tower under broad zoning rules that allow for the extension if certain views are not impeded.

The City Council hearing drew more support and not nearly as much opposition as Tuesday’s DPP hearing.

People who testified Tuesday often said they were not opposed to development of a tower on the property. The orientation, they said, was their big concern.

"You need to be fair about this building plan," said John Thorvaldson. "The building must not be a Kuhio wall."

Ed Schriber called 2121 Kuhio a "win-lose proposition" in which the developer and condotel unit buyers win and the broader Waikiki community loses.

PACREP intends to sell the hotel units to investors at prices averaging more than $654,000.

Walt Powers said the Trump International Hotel and Tower Waikiki Beach Walk condotel is an example complying with the building orientation described in the district guidelines. He called 2121 Kuhio a "Waikiki tombstone."

Powers and others cautioned that if 2121 Kuhio’s design is approved, it would set a precedent and give future developers a green light to orient the long axis of buildings parallel to the mountains and ocean.

"We think this makes a complete mockery of the Waikiki Special District guidelines," said Louis Erteschik, president of the Waikiki Residents Association and vice chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board.

Craig Stevens pointed out that a prior owner of the same property proposed a tower and cited the Waikiki design guidelines as a reason for positioning that tower perpendicular to the orientation of 2121 Kuhio.

Kusao & Kurahashi Inc., a local planning firm representing PACREP and the property’s prior owner, has previously said that the prior plan failed to consider significant street-view corridors in the Waikiki design guidelines.

The only public testimony in favor of the building’s proposed orientation Tuesday was from Kika Bukoski, executive director of the Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council. "The guidelines are just that — they are guidelines," he said. "They are not mandates."

A decision on the permit sought for 2121 Kuhio is scheduled to be made March 19 by the director of DPP.

If the permit is granted, PACREP anticipates starting construction in June and taking two years to complete the project.