A pair of Japanese companies no longer have an inside track to develop two pieces of public land bordering Kewalo Harbor after an exclusive period to negotiate a lease with a state agency ran out and wasn’t extended.

At least one additional contender — major Kakaako developer Howard Hughes Corp. — is expected to submit a competitive development proposal to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency that owns the parcels. And there could be other bids.

The two parcels available for development are a vacant 3,000-square-foot building fronting Ala Moana Boulevard and a 2.1-acre site on the Diamond Head side of the harbor that mainly contains a parking lot.

Japanese-based restaurant operator Bellavita Inc. wanted to open a $3 million Italian restaurant called Napule on the first site. It hoped construction could start in August.

The company expressed interest in leasing the building in late 2013, and HCDA’s board agreed last year to give the company an exclusive one-year opportunity to negotiate terms. That period expired earlier this month, and HCDA Executive Director Anthony Ching said the agency wasn’t interested in an extension.

The same thing happened with the prospective developer of the second site, Kewalo Waterfront Partners Inc., made up of three Japanese firms — Shindai Co. Ltd., Goodluck Corp. and Take and Give Needs Co. — that proposed developing a retail, dining and wedding complex along with a 250-stall parking garage.

At a Feb. 11 HCDA board meeting, Bellavita and Kewalo Waterfront representatives discussed their proposals after submitting draft environmental assessments for their plans last month to the state Office of Environmental Quality Control.

A Kewalo Waterfront spokesman declined to comment on HCDA’s decision to open up the development opportunity to competition but said the partnership’s plan is a unique proposal to revive the area.

"Kewalo Waterfront Partners is committed to pursuing a project at Kewalo Basin and will continue to work with the HCDA and community stakeholders on a proposal that fits well with the working harbor," said company spokesman Kevin Cockett.

"KWP sees Kewalo as a destination where people will want to congregate for a variety of activities," the company added in a statement. "As a result, a core value of our plan and concept is that of developing a truly attractive ‘gathering place’ within Kewalo — a place that will attract and welcome both local residents and visitors."

A representative of Bellavita could not be reached last week.

The move by HCDA to allow competitive bidding for the two sites followed a written request in November from Texas-based Hughes Corp. for its own one-year exclusive lease negotiation period for the two sites.

Hughes Corp. already has a lease from HCDA to manage and improve most of the small-boat harbor directly makai of the company’s $7.5 billion Ward Village redevelopment project, which includes condominium towers with penthouses priced between $20 million and $100 million.

Officials with Hughes Corp. said their position leading the $20 million harbor improvement project, which includes upgrading slips, gives them the unique ability to produce a cohesive master plan for the area as opposed to a disjointed effort represented by the Japanese companies.

"We believe that a piecemeal approach to the planning and design of Kewalo will result in a disorderly development that will fail to maximize the long-term value of Kewalo for the state of Hawaii and fall short of delivering desired community benefits," the company said in its November letter to HCDA.

David Striph, senior vice president in Hawaii for Hughes Corp., said in an interview that elements including parking, traffic flow, architecture and tenant mix will be more synergetic if planned by one entity.

"This should really be planned as one," he said. "If you do it all at once, it makes so much more sense."

Added Race Randle, company senior director of development in Hawaii, "It shouldn’t feel like two different areas. It should be one amazing waterfront. We’re excited about this opportunity to propose a cohesive plan."

Over the last few months, Hughes Corp. has held two community meetings to help craft a development vision for the land around the harbor.

The meetings have helped produce conceptual ideas such as single-story commercial uses that reflect an urban fishing village theme for the 2.1-acre site and the mauka side of the harbor that includes the existing vacant building.

Other ideas presented include putting parking underground and creating a landscaped pedestrian promenade around all the edges of the harbor under Hughes Corp.’s control. Some drawings and photos of the meetings have been posted online at kewalois.com.

Some commercial tour and fishing boat operators at the harbor have publicly derided the plans of Bellavita and Kewalo Waterfront at HCDA meetings. Their view of Hughes Corp.’s initiative so far has been more reserved.

One Kewalo tenant said he prefers more park space than commercial buildings, and asked that his name not be used because he worries that his slip lease could be jeopardized by critiquing his landlord’s plan.

Other critics of the plans from the two Japanese companies are more supportive of Hughes Corp. "I think their plans are more thoughtful," said Wayne Takamine, a member of a community advisory council that helped HCDA create its own conceptual vision for changes at the harbor.

Takamine said Hughes Corp. appears more sensitive to building heights, view planes and green space. "The general feedback that I get from the community is that the Howard Hughes plan is better," he said. "Visually I think it’s better."

On the other hand, Kewalo Waterfront has elicited support from local businesses and trade groups including the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association and Dean Okimoto, a local farmer and president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

Local chef and restaurant operator Roy Yamaguchi said in a letter to HCDA that he is exploring the possibility of introducing a new restaurant concept within the developer’s proposed project.

"I am writing in strong support of Kewalo Waterfront Partners proposed project for Kewalo Basin Harbor," Yamaguchi said in the letter. "I believe KWP’s plans support the HCDA’s vision for creating a vibrant neighborhood gathering place."

HCDA anticipates formally asking for and accepting proposals to lease and develop the two sites between March and April. Agency staff will assess proposals for how they align with zoning, HCDA’s published Kewalo vision and other criteria to be set out. Selecting a winning plan will be up to the agency’s board.

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