Building a 95-unit condominium in place of 19 homes on the slopes of Punchbowl didn’t go over well with neighbors when it was proposed eight years ago. Now a revised plan with 140 condo units is raising even more opposition.
"It doesn’t fit,"said Frank Robben, who lives in a home perched next to a corner of the 1.6-acre project site slated to become a four-story, U-shaped condo called Skyline Honolulu. "It will change the style and the ambience of the neighborhood."
Robben, whose house is in a pocket of single-family and attached homes on the mauka side of Prospect Street intersecting with the top of Ward Avenue, said the condo’s density will ruin the core of low-density residences within the Punchbowl Special District.
"They bought the property and they can develop it,"he said. "That’s not the problem. It should fit somewhat into the neighborhood and not crowd so many people into the area."
The developer, Prospect Properties LLC, said its project aims to reinvigorate the aura and significance of the area where family estates once took advantage of magnificent views of the ocean and a growing urban Honolulu.
"While residents of Honolulu have moved to outlying communities over the years, the intent of Skyline Honolulu is to re-establish Punchbowl as a desirable area and bring residents back into the urban core with a memorable and distinct design," the developer said in its original permit application.
Prospect Properties, an affiliate of construction and development firms Form Partners and U.S. Pacific Development, bought 12 parcels containing 19 detached and single-family homes from several owners in 2007 for a combined $6.8 million, according to property records.
The company announced its condo development plan that year and obtained a Punchbowl Special District permit from the city Department of Planning and Permitting following a public hearing. At the time, several residents objected to the plans over concerns about the impact on the neighborhood’s character and added traffic on what they regard as a dangerous street.
A traffic assessment produced by the developer said its original project would increase traffic on Prospect by 5 percent, or from 9,000 to 9,500 vehicles per day. The developer also said it would widen Prospect Street fronting its project and that the building would comply with a 40-foot height limit and special district rules enacted after several residential towers on the makai side of Prospect were built in the 1970s.
The project, however, did not break ground as an economic recession unfolded, and the special district permit expired in 2010.
Last month, Prospect Properties informed the Makiki-Tantalus Neighborhood Board that it was moving ahead with a revised plan for Skyline Honolulu with 140 units. The developer anticipates submitting a new permit application soon, and said the building would still meet the 40-foot height limit, according to meeting minutes.
A consultant for the developer projected that units would be priced from about $450,000 to $550,000. That would generate sales of $63 million to $77 million. More details could not be obtained from the developer Tuesday.
Construction is anticipated to start in the fall and take 14 months if permitting goes smoothly.
But with more units, more neighbors are trying to mount a campaign against the development plan.
Robben set up the website limitskylinedevelopment.info and mailed 120 letters to neighbors to inform more people about the plans and urge the developer to scale back the density of Skyline Honolulu.
Robben said 60 units would be more appropriate. "Everyone is kind of shocked when they say 140 units,"he said. "That’s more than some of the high-rises around here."
Robben plans to present his request to the area neighborhood board Thursday. A meeting of about 20 residents was held Sunday to discuss concerns.
Susan Andrade, a 44-year Prospect Street resident who led a smaller campaign in 2007 with her son and a few other people objecting to Skyline Honolulu, said she’s a bit discouraged about being able to stop the project.
"They beat us down the last time, and I don’t see how it’s going to be different this time,"she said. Though Andrade added that with more support she is holding out some hope.
Cynthia Fenner, who moved into a house in the neighborhood in 2008, vowed to help try to preserve the community. "It’s so unimaginable what they plan to do on our small corner,"she said. "It’s really going to have an impact."