UPS once used it as storage space. Now part of a nondescript Kakaako warehouse is slated to be transformed into a pavilion for artistic events and a public gathering place.
Kamehameha Schools, owner of the 3,225-square-foot warehouse bay at 441 Cooke St., has partnered with the nonprofit alternative contemporary arts organization Interisland Terminal in the endeavor called Kaka‘ako Agora.
"Agora" is a word of Greek origin meaning public assembly place. Interisland Terminal describes the envisioned space as a "new concept of public space."
"It is a pavilion that will serve as a canvas for a community that wants to express itself," the organization said in a demonstration video.
Christian O’Connor, senior asset manager for Kamehameha Schools, likened the space to a sort of indoor public park that will add a unique element to the trust’s plans for redeveloping nine blocks in Kakaako into an urban village called Our Kaka‘ako with seven residential towers and 300,000 square feet of retail and other commercial space.
"Creating an engaging public space for Our Kaka‘ako will generate opportunities for people to collaborate and to continue to foster creativity within the community," he said in a statement.
Wei Fang, one of Interisland Terminal’s principals, said the organization set out to create an exhibition space in one of Kakaako’s public parks but encountered red tape and budget issues that led to the warehouse pavilion idea in partnership with Kamehameha Schools.
The landowner and the arts collective contracted with Tokyo-based architecture firm Atelier Bow-Wow to design the space with a 687-square-foot mezzanine level for additional seating and art space.
"The Kaka‘ako Agora project will be able to show an alternative way to create a public space in an industrial area," Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, co-founder of Atelier Bow-Wow, said in a statement.
Fang said the warehouse space, which will be open on two ends, will be available to the public when organized events aren’t being held. Initial events planned for the space include demonstrations and performances by Ballet Hawaii, Honolulu Printmakers and Hawaii Opera Theatre.
The project cost is $150,000, of which Interisland Terminal still needs to raise $15,000 including in-kind service contributions.
Approval by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency governing development in Kakaako, is also required because additional floor area is being added to the warehouse. Two public hearings are scheduled for today and April 2 at 9 a.m. in an HCDA conference room at 461 Cooke St.
If approval and financing are obtained, Kamehameha Schools and Interisland Terminal anticipate the space being finished in late May or early June.
