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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kewalo Basin
The Hawaii Community Development Authority today selected most of a proposal from developer Howard Hughes Corp. to improve state land around Kewalo Basin small boat harbor in Kakaako over a rival developer’s bid.
The board of the state agency agreed to proceed with plans by Hughes Corp. that include converting a vacant building fronting Ala Moana Boulevard into a convenience store.
The plan also calls for renovating a mostly unused warehouse next to Kewalo Waterfront Park into a space for special events and adding 100 metered parking stalls on the site for public use.
HCDA’s board rejected a third part of the company’s proposal to enhance landscaping, a public bathroom and picnic areas on a third site on the Diamond Head side of the harbor.
The decision was made in response to a request for proposals HCDA issued.
One competing bidder, Kewalo Waterfront Partners, proposed a more dense retail and restaurant project that also included multipurpose space for weddings and other uses on the third site.
You can have the best planners, but no one can predict how the economy will be faring in the next decade.