Kamehameha Schools has shelved its plan to develop a shopping center anchored by a Foodland supermarket on preservation-zoned land in Hawaii Kai, City Councilman Stanley Chang said.
Chang, who represents east Honolulu, scheduled a news conference at Maunalua Bay Beach Park for this morning to announce what he described Wednesday as Kamehameha Schools’ "intent to suspend plans for the Kuapa Gateway Parcel."
Chang told the Star-Advertiser he believes the suspension is indefinite. "There are no existing plans to proceed with development of the property at this time," he said.
Details will be given today, he said. "I applaud Kamehameha Schools’ showing its commitment working closely with the community and heeding the community’s concerns."
Neither Kamehameha Schools representatives nor Foodland officials could be reached for comment late Wednesday.
The 4.5-acre property, the site of the so-called "Great Lawn" across Kalanianaole Highway from Maunalua Bay, is considered the gateway into the Hawaii Kai community. The development concept would include restaurants, a park, a dog park and a pedestrian promenade along the marina front. A zoning change would be required to develop the site.
Greg Knudsen, Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board chairman, said he is not surprised by the decision. "It’s the only correct decision for them to take," he said. But he said he wonders whether the suspension is a tactic by Kamehameha Schools to wait until opposition to the project subsides.
Community opposition has been "overwhelming," Knudsen said. An estimated 200 people attended the first community meeting on the development plan and 400 at the second, he said.
A large number of residents protested loudly when the Foodland at Koko Marina Center was closed in 2011 because of difficult lease negotiations.
The market had been there since 1963.
Knudsen said he was one of those who protested when Foodland was closed.
"But we are even stronger in our opposition to the conversion of any kind of preservation land," he said.
Hawaii Kai residents have had a long history of opposing development in controversial parts of their region, from plans for homes on farmland in Kamilonui Valley to resort cabins along the Ka Iwi Coast.
Knudsen said he is hoping Foodland will consider opening a store at a vacant site at the Kalama Valley Shopping Center.
Foodland’s Koko Marina closing left Safeway and Costco as the only grocery stories in the community. The nearest Foodland for Hawaii Kai residents is an upscale-format Foodland Farms in Aina Haina.
