Adding obstacles will only make it costlier and more complicated to build a new Aloha Stadium, now priced at around $400 million, and to develop the area around it.
The question is: Will Senate Bill 3334 remove impediments to the so-called New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District, a retail-residential mix, encompassing 98 acres of state land? Or would it actually keep the project from moving ahead?
The answer depends on proposed changes to the legislation that appear to be gaining favor with lawmakers driving the discussion. A key goal would be to revise and improve how the state controls the project — but delaying those revisions until developers and state planners have had a chance to gain a foothold in advancing the actual work.
The current draft of SB 3334 holds some promise. If there’s anything encouraging about a planning process that has been painstaking up to this point, it’s that the state agencies now at the helm seem to have settled on a plan to keep the timetable on pace, so that the turbulence of the world economy does not upend it entirely.
At least that is the hope. There is a war going on, and state officials, as well as the business world, are plainly worried what cost increases may already be in the pipeline. Meanwhile, the rest of the state is wondering when and whether a new stadium that has been needed for years will ever materialize, along with the housing, retail and entertainment elements that are promised.
The proposal is to give the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) the sole jurisdiction over stadium lands and the dominant role in executing the redevelopment project. This actually was the original intent in 2019, and it’s always been the most sensible approach, at least in theory.
However, in 2020 lawmakers opted instead to put the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) in charge of procuring developer bids. The Stadium Authority would have overall control of the stadium lands and would direct procurement, using HCDA-like powers.
The whole reason the Legislature created HCDA in 1976 was to streamline the development of underutilized areas; principally its focus has been on the planning and construction of new projects in Kakaako and Kalaeloa. The authority would be expected to bring its planning capability and zoning authority to this latest effort.
It will be a lift: HCDA has never handled such a stadium-entertainment-retail complex. Still, the authority does have experience navigating risky projects that meet the bar set for public benefits. That is key in steering a project involving a large tract of publicly owned land that ought to allow for uses in the public interest — including a significant number of affordable housing units.
People can be forgiven if they’re having trouble following all this. There have been delays and complications, owing in part to concern over some legal language in the enabling legislation.
A request for proposals has yet to be issued, either for the stadium or the surrounding development. Earlier this session, state Sen. Glenn Wakai, a proponent of the stadium redevelopment, said the new role for HCDA would help to more efficiently advance the project.
However, the developers who have shown interest in bidding on the projects are not so sure. At hearings before House and Senate committees on March 18, Craig Nakamoto, HCDA interim executive director, said there is some anxiety about adding another layer of bureaucracy to these large and expensive projects. Overhauling the management structure on the verge of bids being brought adds to the uncertainty.
Nakamoto was joined in the testimony by Ryan Andrews, acting manager of Aloha Stadium, and Curt Otaguro, who directs DAGS as state comptroller. They agreed to the proposed changes but urged lawmakers to postpone it until July 2025.
“In the meantime, it doesn’t mean that we can’t help,” Nakamoto added. That’s for sure: The City Council may have to handle some of the zoning matters up until that switch, but HCDA should do all it can to expedite the process. And should lawmakers grant the delay, no time can be wasted in establishing the necessary new development rules.
It’s still unclear exactly what will come out in the final version, which is bound for conference committee. But the current posture is, thankfully, at least cooperative.
Cooperation, while not sufficient in itself, is an essential ingredient for eventual success.
The new development district represents a rare opportunity to combine economic activity with crucial housing inventory and a stadium facility that can serve multiple purposes, all served by a new rail line.
Every cynic in the state knows there are lots of ways this can go wrong. But the powers that be must get on with the nuts and bolts of the job, working together without undue delay to achieve concrete results. That’s the only way to make it work.
