Developer seeks waiver on glass rule

A second Kakaako condominium tower developer is seeking relief from a state rule governing the opaqueness of window glass.

Downtown Capital LLC, which developed 801 South St. Building A, recently asked the Hawaii Community Development Authority to waive or suspend its glass rule for the 47-story tower, which opened in June.

Downtown Capital’s request follows a similar one made by the developer of the partially built Symphony Honolulu tower, OliverMcMillan.

HCDA, which regulates development in Kakaako, has yet to make a decision in the Symphony case after conducting two public hearings with expert testimony in July and two meetings earlier this month that included more discussion and deliberation. A fifth hearing, which is expected to include additional expert witness testimony, is scheduled for Sept. 2 in the Symphony case.

Downtown Capital filed its petition with HCDA on Aug. 5. The agency posted public notice of hearings on the petition Monday.

In the petition, the developer said its team was unaware of the glass rule during the time it designed and built 801 South A. The developer also said HCDA reviewed building permits for the tower before construction and indicated the permits conformed with agency rules.

HCDA’s glass rule requires that tower glass above the ground floor allow at least 50 percent of light to pass through. This specification, known as visible light transmission, or VLT, was in part aimed at keeping towers from being highly reflective in Kakaako where dense high-rise development is envisioned.

However, glass experts have said there is no direct correlation between VLT and reflectance, and that it’s possible to have glass with high VLT and high reflectance or low VLT and low reflectance.

HCDA staff has indicated that revising the glass rule may be in order.

Downtown Capital said in its petition that glass on 801 South St. has low reflectance and a VLT of 35 percent. The developer also said glass makes up relatively little — 33 percent — of the building’s exterior, and that reflectance is reduced further because lanai doors are recessed 4 feet from the exterior surface.

Replacing thousands of window panes would be cost-prohibitive and disturb the building’s residents, Downtown Capital added.

“There is no point in enforcing a standard that HCDA may revise, particularly where all parties overlooked the standard until the point at which a correction became impracticable,” the developer said in the petition. “No public interest will be harmed if the waiver is approved, and no public good will be advanced if HCDA’s interpretation of the VLT standard is strictly enforced.”

Public hearings on Downtown Capital’s petition are scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 7 and 9 a.m. Oct. 8 at HCDA’s 547 Queen St. conference room. The agency anticipates making a decision Dec. 2 at a meeting slated for 1 p.m.