A storied, Hawaii-based TV franchise will gain life anew in the old warehouse behind the even older Honolulu Advertiser building on Kapiolani Boulevard at South Street.

CBS Television will build a sound stage for "Hawaii Five-0" in the warehouse and begin shooting July 15, the network announced yesterday. The warehouse and the more familiar former Advertiser building in front of it have been largely vacant since June 6, after Virginia-based Gannett Co. sold the newspaper to Oahu Publications Inc., owner of the Star-Advertiser.

"It’s an iconic structure for an iconic series, paying tribute to the history and community of Honolulu," the network said in a prepared statement.

The series will premiere in September and will air Monday nights.

Whether the interior or exterior of the historic Advertiser building will be used for any scenes was not confirmed, said Erika Kauffman, local unit publicist.

Before booking the warehouse, the network had its eye on the old CompUSA site where South Street meets Ala Moana Boulevard. The facility recently housed "The Descendants" movie production starring George Clooney, based on a book by isle writer Kaui Hemmings. Kauffman confirmed the site had been on the network’s short list.

Safeway confirmed some months ago that it would not move forward with expansion plans for the old CompUSA location. Speculation in the business community has an auto dealer or high-end grocer kicking the site’s tires. The property is owned by Kamehameha Schools, whose spokeswoman, Ann Botticelli, could only say yesterday, "I can’t confirm anything."

Using the Advertiser warehouse is a throwback to "Hawaii Five-0’s" beginnings. The original series was shot in various hot warehouses without air conditioning until the Diamond Head Film Studio was completed in the early 1970s, according to the state Film Office’s research.

There was no local primary sound stage used for shooting the pilot, said Kauffman.

The new "Hawaii Five-0" will star Alex O’Loughlin ("Moonlight"), Daniel Dae Kim ("Lost"), Scott Caan ("Oceans Eleven"), Grace Park ("Battlestar Galactica") and Taryn Manning ("Sons of Anarchy").

Google guru to gab

Google is sending one of its newest developer advocates to Hawaii for tomorrow’s annual TechHui conference, where he will preach the gospel of an open Web to the glitterati of Hawaii’s geek, er, tech community.

Seth Ladd lived in Hawaii for seven years, "the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere," but he moved away about three weeks ago to join Google. He was most recently director of software at Camber Corp., a defense contractor with offices here.

"Google’s really betting on an open Web, open technology and open standards" for Web development, he said.

Local tech companies Oceanit, Avatar Reality, Sprout, Ikayzo and Pukoa Scientific will be at the 9 a.m.-to-4 p.m. event tomorrow at the University of Hawaii Art Auditorium. Registration details can be found – where else? – online.

Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Advertiser. Reach her by e-mail at erika@staradvertiser.com.