A Honolulu City Council member wants the city to condemn a derelict Waikiki apartment building sandwiched between the Watermark, one of Oahu’s toniest condominiums, and freshly renovated walk-up apartments.

The building, at 1615 Ala Wai Blvd., has been vacant some 20 years and has a history of complaints with the city Department of Planning and Permitting going back more than a decade. The condition of the roughly 9,500-square-foot, fee-simple property also has resulted in complaints to police.

The building’s derelict appearance and unsafe condition came to the attention of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, which has been pushing for improvements for about a year.

Honolulu Councilman Tommy Waters, who represents Waikiki, told the Waikiki Neighborhood Board on Tuesday night that he plans to introduce a resolution to condemn the property since the city’s plans to purchase the property have fallen through.

The city had hoped to strike a deal so that it could rehabilitate the property and turn it into affordable housing. City officials reached out to the building’s owners last fall to see whether there was an interest in selling the property.

Sandra Pfund, director of the city Department of Land Management, said the city had preliminary communications with the owner.

“After several discussions with the owner, the city concluded that the owner was not serious in negotiating a purchase,” Pfund said.

Norman Nip, a small-business owner who is known for Nip’s Potato Chips, owns the property along with his brother Alvin and sister Donna Chang.

Nip, the family spokesman, couldn’t be reached for comment Friday, but he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in July that the property was for sale but that he hadn’t listed it or settled on a price. Nip said he had turned down previous offers for $3.2 million and $5.5 million from investors in the 1980s. The property currently has a tax-assessed value of about $275,000 and sits on land worth approximately $2.7 million.

Waters said it was his understanding that the Nip family wanted $8 million for the property, “which is ridiculous.”

“I drafted the resolution to condemn the property based on feedback from the Waikiki Neighborhood Board and others,” Waters said. “The owner doesn’t plan to sell, and he has no plans to fix up the property or gate it.”

The Waikiki Neighborhood Board voted to support Waters’ resolution.

In the meantime the property’s condition remains a concern to some.

Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu said Friday, “Officers have responded to numerous reports of trespassing and suspicious activity at that address. At least one person has been arrested for trespassing in the last year.”

DPP, which last visited the property in September, has investigated more than a dozen complaints dating back to 2008, for overgrowth and litter on the property, graffiti and the poor condition of the structure. In six of the complaints, DPP issued notices of violation, and two of them escalated to notices of order, but those only resulted in approximately $578 worth of fines.

The most recent DPP inspection determined there were no violations, said DPP spokesman Curtis Lum. There are no open notices of violation or notices of order, Lum said.

Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Kathryn Henski said she supports the condemnation.

“The current condition remains deplorable. It should be condemned — it’s long overdue,” Henski said. “It should not remain in the owner’s hands. They aren’t taking it seriously and keeping it up. There’s the potential for fire, which would be horrible, and there have been people with drugs in there. It’s an eyesore. It’s a detriment to the community.”

If Waters’ plan goes forward, it could add to the city’s affordable-housing efforts in Waikiki. In 2018 the city opened 436 Ena Road, which provides 33 units of affordable housing, as well as a facility to provide various services to low- and moderate-income households.

A Waikiki resident at the meeting opposed Waters’ plan, saying that she feared the condemnation would result in a homeless shelter near her home. The woman said she’d heard of problems in the neighborhood surrounding the city’s project at 436 Ena Road.

Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Mark Garrity said he appreciated the woman’s opinion but supported Waters’ plan.

“We’re talking about affordable housing for people in the neighborhood, not homeless people,” Garrity said.