Agency’s plan would rebuild Blaisdell complex

The city’s aging Neal S. Blaisdell Center could be a site of one of three proposed 700-foot residential towers under a draft plan proposed by a state agency regulating development in Kakaako.

The plan would give the city the ability to let a private developer build such a tower in return for replacing the Blaisdell with new public concert and event facilities.

There could even be a business hotel, a multi-plex cinema and a large park on the Blaisdell site, along with new performing arts facilities, parking and the high-rise, the plan suggests.

The draft plan is being proposed by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency regulating development in Kakaako, and aims to allow higher-density development in areas largely concentrated around two city rail stations slated for Kakaako.

The authority released a summary of the plan on May 10, unveiling broad strokes of the proposed draft rules — including raising tower height limits to 550 feet from 400 feet in some areas, plus authorizing three towers up to 700 feet.

The site for one of those towers — the Blaisdell — is described in the full 206-page draft, a copy of which was released Wednesday.

"This is a perfect opportunity — should the city take it," said Anthony Ching, the development authority’s executive director.

A representative of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, who represents Kakaako, said she’s open to a private-public partnership redeveloping the Blaisdell with new public facilities.

"That’s probably the only way to get funding," she said. But Kobayashi added that any redevelopment should fit the neighborhood. "It’s hard to envision a 700-foot tower next to McKinley High School."

Sites for the other two envisioned 700-foot towers would be near the city’s two planned rail stations, but are not more precisely specified.

Kobayashi encouraged people to have open minds about building higher in Kakaako. "We are a city," she said. "We have to keep our options open."

The Sierra Club has yet to take a position on the draft plan. But other observers, including Henry Curtis of the Outdoor Circle, have derided the idea of building above 400 feet. Traffic is another concern raised by some residents.

The areas in Kakaako that would have a 550-foot height limit is another significant new piece of the plan disclosed Wednesday.

In the proposal, all parcels fronting Ala Moana Boulevard up to Auahi Street would be restricted to existing height limits that permit a certain percentage of buildings developed on that strip to rise 400 feet.

An interior core of Kakaako mainly made up of small parcels, along with land Ewa of South Street and an area known as the Sheridan Tract, also would be given no height increases. The area makai of Ala Moana known as Kakaako Makai is not part of the plan.

Ching said the objective of the proposed transit-oriented development, or TOD, rules is to increase pedestrian activity around transit-rich areas that include the rail stations and gathering places such as the Blaisdell.

"It’s not just about building tall buildings," he said. "The TOD plan will enable the Kakaako Community Development District to become a sustainable, highly livable, culturally vibrant, economically healthy, and walkable neighborhood. This is exactly what our governor has envisioned for Kakaako — a pedestrian-oriented development community."

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has described Kakaako, which for decades has been envisioned by state planners for high-density residential development, as a "third city" on Oahu.

"Establishing a transit-rich and diverse community in Kakaako is one of the highest priorities of my administration," he said in a statement. "Realizing a vibrant pedestrian-first community in Kakaako will mean less urban sprawl and an opportunity to improve the quality of life for Hawaii families."

Kakaako is a roughly 450-acre area bounded by Ala Moana Boulevard and South King, Punchbowl and Piikoi streets.

More than a dozen residential high-rise towers have been built in the area over the past few decades, and close to that number are now in the works. Raising height limits wouldn’t necessarily increase the number of towers eventually built in Kakaako, but the proposed rules would dramatically reshape a large piece of Honolulu’s skyline and increase the number of people living in the area.

Ching said taller, slimmer towers will produce a less cluttered environment and reduce impacts on views.

The proposed new rules also provide for improved pedestrian paths, bike lanes and parking, which along with rail and bus transit should reduce automobile trips and enhance the existing quality of the Kakaako region, the plan said.

The development authority will hold a series of public discussions on the plan starting this evening.

The agency is working on an environmental impact statement, and will need to hold public hearings before final rules are considered for adoption by its board of directors.

Ching anticipates that it’s possible that rules could go into effect in the first quarter of next year if approved.