ByKen Ige, Star-Bulletin
The state wants someone to redevelop the Ala Moana
pumping station. The bluestone structure, built in 1900, was the
state's first sewage pumping station. Developers must follow
guidelines for restoring historic structures.
A request for proposals went out this week, only a few months after a previous plan by the Historic Hawai'i Foundation was scuttled after a protest from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
The pumping station sits on ceded lands and OHA did not like the $1 annual lease for 50 years given by the Hawaii Community Development Authority to the foundation. OHA gets 20 percent of revenues generated from ceded lands.
About a dozen people came forward with inquiries and ideas after the foundation's lease was canceled by HCDA.
"We've heard of uses such as restaurants, a wedding chapel, a microbrewery or a showroom for luxury cars," said Jan Yokota, executive director of HCDA, which regulates development in Kakaako.
The pumping station has 3,400 square feet in three buildings on one acre of land. The state did not place many requirements for the proposal, but developers must follow national and state historic guidelines for the restoration. The state can lease the land for a maximum of 65 years.
Developer proposals are due before 2 p.m. on May 27. A pre-bid information session will be held March 11 at 2 p.m. at the HCDA offices, 677 Ala Moana Blvd.
The historic group had planned a $2 million restoration project. The pumping station would have been used for the foundation's office and a place to educate people about Hawaiian heritage.
The group spent $650,000 for architectural and construction plans before the OHA objection and the HCDA canceled the lease last year. OHA indicated that a lawsuit could challenge the lease.
The pumping station is a bluestone structure, with arched windows, a green tile roof and a 80-foot-high tower. It was built in 1900 as the city's first waste disposal facility. Steam-powered pumps carried sewage 1,200 feet out to sea. The facility was replaced in 1955 by a new treatment facility nearby. But the old facility remained in partial use, on a standby basis, for several years.