The former Walker Estate may soon become history
Developers plan to raze the historic estate to build homes
The future of the former Walker Estate in Nuuanu is up in the air as a developer eyes the property for demolition.
Walker Estate
Address: 2616 Pali Highway
Built: circa 1905
Owner: Holy-Eye LLC of Taiwan
Size: 5.7 acres
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TR Partners LLC, made up of Greg Clark and Tom Enomoto, seeks to demolish the 100-year-old estate to build new homes.
Historic preservationists decry the potential razing of the estate listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the H. Alexander Walker Residence.
The home, built by German immigrant George Rodiek in 1904, according to county records, is said to represent the Classical Revival period of architecture. The estate, which is also on the state register of historic places, has been listed for more than a year by Chaney Brooks American Homes for $12.9 million.
TR Partners expects to buy the estate for upwards of $10 million and is seeking to demolish it so the company can build from scratch.
The estate now belongs to Holy-Eye LLC, an affiliate of a Taiwanese Buddhist organization, which plans to sell the estate so it can focus on building an elaborate temple in Taiwan dedicated to the thousand-handed Bodhisattva.
Holy-Eye bought the Walker estate in 1998 for $5 million, with the intention of offering its members a retreat home. But few visitors from Taiwan are coming to the estate these days.
"Quite frankly, it's too costly to maintain," Clark said. "The maintenance is astronomical ... it would be in the seven figures."
Clark, who describes himself simply as a Honolulu businessman, said when he stumbled upon it, he became interested.
"It's a beautiful property," he said. "There's not many five-acre tracts of land right off the central business district of Honolulu. It's a fantastic location."
TR Partners' earlier plans to develop the property into a subdivision with 20 homes was turned down by the city. Clark said TR Partners is still exploring its options.
This week, the partners filed an application with the city to demolish all three structures on the 5.7-acre estate, which includes a main two-story house, a guest house and garden-style pavilion.
He said the main house would need work to bring it up to code for health and safety issues. He described the guest house and pavilion as termite-ridden and "rotted out."
From a practical viewpoint, he said it seemed more feasible to tear down all three structures. Earlier efforts included requests to remove the secondary structures from the historic register.
"We're still determining what we can and cannot do," he said. "We're not trying to do anything that isn't legal or that we're not entitled to do."
The state's Historic Preservation Division, meanwhile, recommends preservation of the estate, but wields little power. Under state law, private owners of historical properties are simply required to give the division 90 days notice of changes and alterations.
The state has the option to condemn the property, but does not have the funds to do so, according to Peter Young, chairman of the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.
Today, both U.S. and Taiwanese flags flank the gates to the property, which also offers sprawling lawns, trees and a Japanese garden.
Historic preservation groups are appalled that a developer would want to demolish the estate and replace it with a new subdivision.
"It's tragic that they don't value the architectural and cultural heritage that they have," said Kiersten Faulkner, executive director of the Historic Hawaii Foundation. "A much better solution would be to look at the intrinsic value of the estate and use that to meet their development needs rather than thinking they need to demolish it all and throw away this beautiful part of Hawaii's legacy."
Many developers are able to use a historic property as a centerpiece, rather than an impediment to development, she said.
But Clark doesn't see it that way.
"We're hoping to start demolition on the property as soon as possible," he said.