DHHL not ready to upgrade land

Sometimes what’s required to jumpstart a stalled project is not more taxpayer funds but a reordering of priorities.

That seems to be the case with the proposal that the state pay for upgrades needed in advance of developing the property at the old Stadium Bowl-O-Drome site in Moiliili. The proposal is premature at best, and should not receive any funds in a budget year when cutbacks are on the horizon.

The 1.9-acre parcel belongs to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which really hasn’t made enough progress toward its development to merit this allotment, which would be generated through the issuance of general obligation bonds.

An unspecified infusion of funds is what’s proposed, though, in House Bill 65, introduced by state Rep. Calvin Say. The money, Say said, is needed to upgrade sewer and water lines on the property, 820 Isenberg St.

Now occupied by a tow-truck company as a baseyard, a tenant for many years, the land is currently lacking the utility capacity to support dense development.

And that’s been the reality for the past 15 years. In 2002, DHHL solicited proposals for commercial use and received some applications, but no deal resulted.

In the intervening decade or more, plans for the area have been evolving, signalling that the property has grown in development potential. It’s unclear why DHHL has been dragging its feet on this, its only property in urban Honolulu.

So far there’s been little evidence that the agency is ready to advance any project, or even define what the project should be.

An environmental review process has been underway for more than a year, said DHHL spokeswoman Paula Aila, who added that this needs to be completed before the agency can determine its highest and best use.

Potentially, the environmental review could qualify the project for federal redevelopment funds under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act. However, Aila said, there is no expected timetable for completing the environmental review.

DHHL did not even ask for the money, which further weakens the argument for allotting it via HB 65.

It’s likely not a small amount. The site could be used for up to 126 residences in a structure up 10 stories high, with commercial tenants on the ground floor generating revenue for the agency. This is according to a plan DHHL issued in 2014 to make recommendations on potential uses for its properties.

And according to that plan, the needed improvements would cost $4.1 million.

DHHL is an agency that has struggled not only with this single project but with the deliverance of its entire mission: housing for Native Hawaiians of 50 percent or more blood quantum. Many of those on its beneficiary waiting list have died without ever receiving a homestead that was their due.

The department has come under the state auditor’s critical review and has a record of sub-par administrative oversight. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has lengthy chronicles of irregularities in its revocable permitting system, its management shortcomings and other persistent problems that have stood in the way of whittling that waiting list.

There is redevelopment of the Moiliili area on the horizon, with a new student housing complex under construction a short distance from the Isenberg site. Ultimately there could be transit-oriented development potential here, if the rail system extends this far as originally envisioned.

The state already has increased funding to DHHL under a court order. Lawmakers should wait to see if it buys any improvement in administration before adding to the state’s debt load with financial support at the Moiliili site.

It’s DHHL’s turn to show some initiative here, and make the most of what it has.