Some remain unswayed by revised drive-in plan

A developer has refined plans to develop the former Kam Drive-In theater property next to Pearlridge Center in response to community feedback, though some area residents still feel the project, with three residential towers, is too much.

Robertson Properties Group reduced the height of two towers and the number of units in the roughly $775 million project with a mix of condominiums, retail, office space and a hotel on 14 acres.

Under an initial plan there were three 350-foot condos and some low- and midrise condos with 1,800 residential units. Now the plan calls for one 350-foot tower, a 300-foot tower and a 250-foot tower along with smaller buildings with a total of 1,500 units.

Other pieces of the plan include office space, a 150-room hotel, retail anchored by a grocery store and 3,100 parking spaces. Some of the homes could be reserved for seniors.

Condo prices are expected to range from about $250,000 to $600,000 and meet a county requirement to have 30 percent of units affordable to residents with moderate incomes.

Robertson, which detailed its initial plan in an environmental impact statement preparation notice in May, presented the new version at a community meeting Monday night at Pearl Ridge Elementary School.

About 150 people attended the meeting, and some said their concerns about negative impacts to traffic and views remain.

"My big concern is traffic," said Carolyn Kargol, who lives less than a mile away. "The congestion will be unbearable."

Jamie Bennett, who lives in the nearby Lelepono high-rise, said making some towers skinnier and shorter won’t prevent her view from being ruined. "Those three monster buildings are going to obliterate my view of Pearl Harbor and Ford Island," she said.

Increased traffic and impeded views were the two biggest concerns raised by nearby residents, especially people living in high-rise towers mauka of the former drive-in site.

John Manavian, a Robertson executive vice president, said the company has lowered and reoriented the biggest buildings to mitigate impacts.

"We tried to vary the heights and reduce footprints to minimize the view impact," he said.

Though the heights of two midrise buildings were increased to 150 feet from between 60 and 80 feet, Manavian said the revised plan reduces total building coverage on the site by 50 percent.

Manavian said a traffic study is almost complete and that the company will do a study of shadows cast by the tall buildings and assess what effect the project would have on tradewinds.

"We are very excited about these revisions and improvements to the master plan, and we look forward to bringing this unique mixed-use community to Aiea for residents of all ages and income levels," he said.

He acknowledged that not much can be done to avoid creating more traffic, but he said the impact from 1,500 condos and 220,000 square feet of commercial space will be less than what it would be from the maximum amount of retail and office space allowed under present zoning.

Existing B-2 zoning allows 1.5 million to 2 million square feet of commercial space with a 60-foot height limit.

Robertson intends to apply for BMX-3 zoning that allows residential and commercial space with a height up to 350 feet. A hotel would need resort zoning or some kind of exemption.

The developer said in its environmental impact statement preparation notice that the project is consistent with the pattern of development in the vicinity and would fit well with a planned rail station about a quarter-mile away.

Just mauka of the site are two high-rises: the 34-story Lelepono and 43-story Pearlridge Square condos. The Robertson site also is adjacent to other residential projects and retail. A swap meet operating on the site three days a week would be displaced if development proceeds.

Drive-in movies had been the main use of the Robertson property for almost 40 years. Films debuted there in 1962, but operator Consolidated Theatres closed the twin-screen outdoor theater in 1998.

Consolidated had leased the land from Kamehameha Schools, but Robertson, the former real estate development affiliate of the Los Angeles-based theater chain, acquired the property in a 2007 purchase/trade that gave Kamehameha Schools $23 million and the Varsity Twin Cinema site in Moiliili.

Robertson, which is no longer affiliated with Consolidated, is primarly a retail developer. The company’s projects in Hawaii include Pearl City Gateway in Manana and the Center of Waikiki on the former site of the Waikiki I, II and III theaters.

Build-out of the Aiea project is expected to take 13 years, over which time an average 980 construction jobs would be tied to the project annually. The number of permanent jobs created by the project is estimated to be about 1,000.

Public hearings will be held on the project in connection with a city Department of Planning and Permitting review and City Council votes on zoning.

The public also may comment on a draft environmental impact statement that Robertson expects to publish by the end of the year.

If Robertson obtains necessary approvals, construction could start in 2014 with an initial phase opening in 2015.