Kakaako condo project wins state approval

Two pieces of a master plan for redeveloping nine blocks in Kakaako owned by Kamehameha Schools got the go-ahead Wednesday, including a high-rise condominium that has upset residents of two neighboring towers.

The board of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency governing development in Kakaako, voted 6-0 to approve the two projects after public hearings that drew heavy yet divided testimony on the larger of the two, a condo complex called The Collection.

The other project approved was a conversion of old buildings into a retail complex dubbed SALT.

The Collection features 467 condo units, including 397 in a 43-story tower, 54 in a four-story building and 16 three-story townhouses. Retail and restaurant space along with a 914-space parking garage is also part of the plan for the block bordering Ala Moana Boulevard and South, Auahi and Keawe streets where CompUSA once operated a store.

Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is The Collection’s developer, and is buying the 3-acre site from Kamehameha Schools.

A&B made an initial presentation of its project at an HCDA public hearing in June. Since then, HCDA received more than 600 written comments on the plan. The written input, which included two online petitions, broke down to 460 expressions of support and 197 opposed.

About 30 people testified in person Wednesday, with 17 in favor and 13 opposed.

Several testifiers said they welcomed the project as a place they hoped to live or that it would be an improvement over the existing use of the old Comp­USA store now serving as a used-car dealership.

"I won’t miss an auto­mall," said Bobby Lambrix. "I believe in urban redevelopment over urban sprawl."

Vernon Chock, a real estate broker, called A&B’s plan a "very respectable" project that will create jobs, tax revenue and places to live for local buyers at a broad price range that A&B previously said would be about $375,000 to more than $750,000.

Others, however, criticized The Collection as too dense, and urged the Hawaii Community Development Authority to reject a request by A&B to exceed by 20 feet a 45-foot height limit for its mid-rise buildings that include a parking garage screened by four-story condo buildings.

Manoa resident A. Lono Lyman, a former Hawaii County planning director, said The Collection is a project on steroids better suited for denser places such as Dubai.

Lyman noted that A&B is providing 44 percent more parking stalls than the required minimum of 637, and suggested that building the garage 65 feet high is unnecessary.

Rick Stack, senior vice president of development for A&B, said limiting the parking garage to 40 feet would lead to a garage not fronted by residences, resulting in a less-attractive streetscape.

"We believe the modifications requested make a better project," he said.

"The mid-rise is an important part of our overall plan."

Besides the height increase, A&B asked HCDA to allow a top corner of its mid-rise condo building to encroach about 6 feet into a view corridor fronting Ala Moana. The authority approved both rule modification requests.

Several residents of One Waterfront Towers just mauka of The Collection site questioned whether the area’s sewer system can handle the new project and said sewer smells back up into their units.

The city has permitted The Collection to connect to the sewer system, and said the odor issues appear to be tied to problems with plumbing infrastructure at Waterfront towers.

Waterfront towers residents also said that A&B’s plan violates HCDA rules pertaining to zoning, tower spacing and density. But Tony Ching, the authority’s executive director, said A&B’s project complies in these areas.

HCDA rules require 200 feet between the narrow sides of towers. The narrow end of the Collection tower would be 249 feet from the corner of the closest of the Waterfront towers. Some Waterfront residents said the spacing should meet the 300-foot minimum required between tower broad sides.

"The proximity of the (A&B) tower is too close … in violation of the rules," said Waterfront resident Tom Wheeler.

Ching noted that only 230 feet separate the pair of Waterfront towers between their corners, and said a similar proximity exists with The Collection. "The parallel distance is not relevant because (the towers) are not parallel," he said.

Ching also said Kamehameha Schools is transferring density from other blocks in its master plan so that The Collection can exceed normal density, which is allowed under HCDA rules. And Ching said zoning allows the planned mix of residential and commercial use.

Stack of A&B said he appreciates HCDA’s review and is pleased by the board’s decision. Stack said condo sales should begin by the end of the month, followed by construction next year.

SALT, the second piece of the Kamehameha Schools master plan approved Wednesday, received relatively little public comment. An initial presentation was made July 3 by the trust, which asked to build the project’s 267-stall parking garage 65 feet high, or 20 feet more than the area’s 45-foot base height limit.

The SALT project will provide space for 35 to 50 mostly retail and restaurant tenants just Diamond Head of The Collection on a block bordered by Ala Moana Boulevard and Coral, Keawe and Auahi streets.

Kamehameha Schools may ultimately develop a high-rise on the SALT site. The trust also has announced its intent to develop three luxury condo towers on adjacent blocks fronting Ala Moana as well as a moderate-priced tower with 600 units mauka of Waterfront towers.

Detailed plans for those four tower projects have yet to be submitted to HCDA for approval.

Altogether, Kamehameha Schools has envisioned seven towers on nine blocks under a master plan approved by HCDA in 2009.