Hawai‘i Convention Center rooftop terrace needs repair

The Hawaii Tourism Authority plans to ask Gov. David Ige to add $64 million to the state’s capital improvements budget so that it can finally fix a leaky rooftop deck at the Hawai’i Convention Center.

The new figure is more than double what the Hawaii Tourism Authority had last anticipated it would cost to complete the circa-1998 center’s largest deferred maintenance project. It’s a substantial reinvestment in a center that cost $200 million to construct.

Officials at the center requested about $27 million from the Legislature in 2017 to fix the rooftop deck, which was a problem even before the facility opened. However, legislators did not approve the improvements, which consultant Allana Buick & Bers Inc. said in 2012 were needed by 2017.

Repair costs for the project now start at $54 million, which would include fixing two stairways and repairing the rooftop deck by adding pedestrian pavers and possibly a concrete overlay to increase loading capacity and resist future cracking.

But HTA ’s latest capital improvement request is for $64 million, which also includes installing shades to cover 50% of the rooftop terrace. Hawai‘i Convention Center General Manager Teri Orton recommended investing in shades, which would cool the space, eliminate the need for tents and provide more options for clients in inclement weather. The project is estimated to take 76 weeks, including 29 construction weeks.

The board had considered a third option to complete the repairs and add a 50,000-square-foot ballroom to the deck but rejected it because Orton said business use would not justify the $122 million cost.

While some HTA board members were reluctant to take an immediate position, state Rep. Richard Onishi (D, South Hilo-Keaau-­Honuapo) encouraged them to address the issues.

“This is an ongoing problem since the convention center was built, and many boards have stood by the wayside and not addressed the issue. I think it’s about time that somebody needs to step up to the plate,” said Onishi, who chairs the House Labor and Tourism Committee. “The recommendation of $64 million, I tend to agree, is a reasonable amount to fix the convention center and provide additional useful life for that building.”

Repairs have been advised for years, but the situation is growing more urgent, said Julian Anderson, who presented recommendations to the HTA board Thursday on behalf of Honolulu-based property manager Rider Levett Bucknall.

HTA board Chairman George Kam said RLB was hired in 2018 to conduct an inspection on the current state of the rooftop and make repair recommendations with cost estimates for the board’s consideration. RLB’s update, which was based on the recent findings of structural engineering firm Kai Hawaii, was the second time that HTA has discussed the repair project with the board since 2019.

Anderson told the HTA board Thursday that Kai Hawaii found that it was still structurally safe to continue using the deck. However, he said, components of contractor Nordic/PCL’s design were guaranteed for only 15 to 20 years, so it’s well past time to address the leaky rooftop.

“This is an issue that has existed since the building was designed. Repair is not an option; replacement is required,” he said. “If work is not done, the amount of damage will continue to increase, and more rentable space will be taken out of inventory.”

Unless the issue is promptly addressed, Anderson said, significant repair and refurbishment would be needed for the center’s makai-side meeting rooms, children’s courtyard and some portions of the lobby, which could cause “reputational damage to future sales.”

He said water penetrating the deck has caused water intrusion into other parts of the building, where there are now cracks, rust and calcium leaching from the concrete. The children’s courtyard is water-stained, and stairwells 5 and 6 are so damaged that any part of the building that relies on them for a fire exit might need to be closed.

“If they are not structurally adequate, of course they cannot be used, and consequently the rooftop terrace itself cannot be used or that portion of the deck that relies on the stairs for exiting,” Anderson said.

The problems RBL encountered were beyond those identified in 2012 by engineering consultant Allana Buick & Bers Inc., or ABBAE, when experts in water leaks were brought in to recommend fixes, which were never carried out.

“ABBAE’s interior structural deck survey identified approximately 239 unique locations where the existing steel structural deck has visible corrosion,” said RBL’s most recent report to HTA. “We believe that each of these damaged areas are associated with a failure in the overlying waterproofing membrane. Importantly, we were only able to visually assess about 44% of the entire plaza steel deck. Therefore, we project that many more leak locations are present.”

Repairing the rooftop, which was designed to allow the center to expand, has been a complicated process filled with expensive studies and mired by changing construction codes and political whims.

Anderson said an expandable rooftop was a feature of Nordic/PCL’s winning design for the center. Convention Center Authority members, at the time of construction, approved a $4.15 million change order for the project to beef up the structure so that if it were needed, the rooftop deck later could be converted to a ballroom or additional meeting space.

“Since 1996 and 1998, of course, building codes have changed,” Anderson said. “So the extra structure that was put in to support meeting rooms or ballrooms is no longer considered sufficient to meet building standards.”

Additionally, the rooftop deck repairs previously had been postponed so that funding could be tied to a legislative mandate to create a Center for Hawaiian Music and Dance.

In 2014 HTA awarded an $850,000 contract for a business plan and design study to establish the music and dance facility; however, officials decided that it couldn’t afford the $98 million price tag to bring the project to fruition.

That put everything in limbo since a state statute had required that the cultural center be built on the convention center’s rooftop terrace. The state Legislature has since changed the requirement that the Center for Hawaiian Music and Dance be put at the convention center, which has paved the way for repairs to move forward.

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY WORTH OF PROBLEMS

Even before the Hawai‘i Convention Center opened in 1998, problems were identified with the structure, especially the rooftop terrace.

1. Cracking of wearing slab first noted in 1996-1997 (was considered then to be mainly a cosmetic issue).

2. Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd. reported Nordic/PCL repair options to HTA and DAGS in 1999.

3. RLB report of 2001 discussed the issue and recommended a repair.

4. Sports Court installed per state’s settlement with Nordic/PCL 2003.

5. Allana Buick & Bers Inc. report 2011/2012

6. RLB Inspection December 2018

7. Allana Buick & Bers Inc. report and Kai Hawaii report, February 2019

8. Kai Hawaii update, August 2021

Source: Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd.