The University of Hawaii should not exercise its right to oust the Manoa Innovation Center (MIC) from property the High Technology Development Corp. (HTDC) has operated since 1994 to assist high-technology small businesses to grow and prosper.

Instead, it should transfer the property outright to HTDC or at least extend the lease for another 25 years.

The MIC is one of the most successful economic development projects undertaken by the state and a splendid example of cooperation between the HTDC and the University of Hawaii.

Having conceived, fought for and constructed the MIC, I would like to offer the following information about the lease arrangement.

HTDC was created by the Legislature in 1983 to encourage the growth of Hawaii’s high-technology industry.

One of its strategies was to provide a series of incubators that would foster innovation and entrepreneurship.

By locating the MIC on UH property, we made it possible for its clients to have access to its faculty and capabilities. To enhance this synergism, we also provided space for the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research and the Research Corp. of the University of Hawaii (RCUH) to locate there.

The MIC was only our second project when it was proposed in 1985, and HTDC did not have a proven track record of accomplishment at that time.

The university proposed the 25-year lease as a means of ensuring its Board of Regents and the public that if the project failed, the land would not be lost to it. In this regard, I was pleased to sign the lease on behalf of HTDC.

Now, HTDC has a proven track record over 29 years. It has created the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park on Hawaii island, the Maui Research and Technology Center, the Center for Research in Ocean Science, and the Hawaii Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project.

It also operated a third technology incubation center, the Kaimuki Technology Enterprise Center from 1985 until 1994, when the MIC construction was completed.

I want to commend Jay Fidell on his excellent column, "Manoa innovation Center should remain where it is" ("Think Tech," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 22). The MIC is the backbone of HTDC’s high-technology development strategy and should remain so. The center was designed specifically as a small business incubator facility.

I sincerely doubt that it would be useful to UH’s purposes without extensive and costly renovations.

UH should not bring about its demise just to provide additional office space.