Planned condo project must be revised

The city Department of Planning and Permitting on Tuesday gave conditional approval to a controversial condominium-hotel project in Waikiki, ordering its developers to make significant design changes to "soften the appearance of the tower and reduce its apparent mass" before they can proceed.

The proposed 37-story tower, known as 2121 Kuhio, or The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach, was designed with its long axis parallel to the mountains and ocean along Kuhio Avenue.

"The resulting Kuhio Avenue facade as currently proposed pre­sents itself as a monolith," according to the DPP order signed by Director Designate George Atta. "Its appearance is characterized by many in the community who commented on the project as a ‘wall.’ These characterizations are not undeserved," according to the order.

Los Angeles-based developer PACREP sought approval for the project under the Waikiki Special District Design guidelines.

The DPP ordered PACREP to submit new plans that, among other things, "consider graduated, stepped forms, and/or other appropriate architecture features and design elements."

"Building facades, building articulation, and exterior architectural elements and details, including but not necessarily limited to building materials and colors, which evoke a ‘Hawaiian Sense of Place,’" the order continued.

DPP, in a five-page list of conditions, also directed PACREP to reduce the height of the Kuhio Avenue entry and canopy, increase commercial uses on the ground floor and incorporate pedestrian easements to encourage social interaction in the hotel’s courtyard. DPP also ordered PACREP to conduct studies to evaluate the proposed tower’s impact on wind and sunlight.

The department gave the developer two years to resubmit its plans.

A PACREP official would not comment Tuesday because he had not seen the order.

The project drew strong community opposition when DPP officials held a public hearing on the proposal last month. Many of the complaints focused on the appearance of the proposed tower and that its orientation violated the Waikiki Special District Design guidelines that call for a building’s long axis to run perpendicular to the mountains and ocean to preserve mountain views and natural ventilation.

In the order issued Tuesday, DPP planners noted that the Waikiki Special District guidelines are not mandates.

"Those who have commented about the project that a mauka-makai building tower orientation is virtually required by the (Waikiki Special District) are actually incorrect since it is only and explicitly just a guideline," according to the order.