One plan to redevelop Ala Wai harbor calls for Ferris wheel, movie theater ride

Twenty-seven interested parties, including one that is exploring building a Ferris wheel and a movie theater that offers a virtual reality flyover Hawaii ride, have approached the state about redeveloping the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) intends to seek proposals for redevelopment of an 11-acre area. The agency is authorized to offer a lease arrangement that could extend up to 65 years.

DLNR spokesman AJ McWhorter said, “The RFP is being finalized, and we plan to issue it in the near future.”

Dynamic Entertainment Group Ltd. is one of 27 entities that have approached the state about redevelopment, McWhorter said.

Local attorney Keith Kiuchi, Dynamic’s legal representative, said the company is considering putting up a Ferris wheel and a movie theater ride.

“Dynamic has designed rides for Universal and Disney. The best model for what this could look like is Pier 57 in Seattle,” Kiuchi said. “It’s more akin to the London Eye than a Ferris wheel. “

Some community stakeholders seem willing to entertain broad redevelopment concepts. But others are skeptical since the state’s first attempt at a public-private partnership at Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor failed after Honey Bee USA went bankrupt in 2016. Honey Bee never paid the state $500,000 it owed. Without more oversight, some Waikiki residents fear DOBOR’s second attempt at a public-private partnership will end just as badly. It doesn’t help that Kiuchi, who was financially involved in the failed Honey Bee redevelopment, is serving as Dynamic’s legal representation.

McWhorter said there aren’t any state rules to preclude Kiuchi or Honey Bee from submitting an RFP. Kiuchi says he has no financial involvement in the project and is merely helping Dynamic navigate through the public-private process. Kiuchi said the first step will be holding a community visioning meeting later this month or next month.

Other developers have discussed building residential or hospitality towers or a seawater air-conditioning plant.

“They’ll be a lot of competition,” Kiuchi said. “We know Howard Hughes has been talking to the harbor, and Alexander & Baldwin can’t be far behind.”

DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood told the Waikiki Neighborhood Board in August that the goal is to develop the harbor into a world-class marina that meets the needs of residents and visitors who use the ocean for a myriad of activities. He said developers would be expected to “learn from our past lessons” and incorporate elements collected by DTL Hawaii, an organization that DOBOR paid $99,885 to insert public input into the RFP process.

“This is one of the gateways of Waikiki. I’d like to see it beautified instead of just a dirt lot,” Underwood said at the August briefing.

Janet Mandrell, president of the Makai Society, said she doesn’t think an amusement park concept is consistent with what a majority of those surveyed by DTL wanted.

“A majority of people wanted a fully functional, pretty harbor, with all the same amenities that were present in the past like a boat repair facility, a fuel dock and a store that serves boaters,” Mandrell said. “An amusement complex could exceed the harbor’s carrying capacity, causing the harbor’s surfers and other recreational users to have to compete to use natural resources and to park.”

Sharon Moriwaki, who was elected to the state Senate this month to represent Waikiki, said she’s spoken with Dynamic about its plans but is reserving judgment until the community has a chance to review their proposal.

“I encouraged them to talk to community stakeholders, also the people who live in the boat harbor,” Moriwaki said.

Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Jeff Merz said he is open to reviewing a proposal from Dynamic but thinks an amusement complex might be “incongruent with the land use in the area and DOBOR’s goals.”

State Rep. Tom Brower, who represents Waikiki, said the concept could be a difficult sell. In 1999 the Hawaii Community Development Association unanimously voted to approve a $138 million proposal submitted by D.G. “Andy” Anderson to create a retail and entertainment complex, complete with a 132-foot-high Ferris wheel at the Kakaako waterfront. But the project never happened.

“That one wasn’t well received by the community. I’m not sure how well this one would go over,” Brower said. “When I discussed the possibility of an iconic building with a scenic outlook, someone told me, ‘We have Tantalus’ — and I think that’s how many may want it to stay.”

Hawaii real estate analyst Stephany Sofos said retail development increasingly includes entertainment options to help the bricks-and-mortar stores offer experi­ences that set them apart from online shopping. However, she has doubts about “Coney Island-style” development.

“It doesn’t help to maximize profits if you destroy the Hawaii that our visitors are coming to see,” Sofos said.