Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Hawaii’s World
AFTER a stormy 12-year life, the Hawaii Convention Center Authority passes into history Saturday when its product shifts to control of the new, over-arching Hawaii Tourism Authority. Center authority
closes shopThe convention center's marketing success remains to be determined but the quality of the facility opened two years ago is superb beyond dispute.
Out of a maelstrom of political maneuvering among land-owner, resident and other interests, we have a center that:
Was the unanimous choice of technical and design teams;
The first alternative that came close to being foisted on us was a legislatively approved "free" center at the International Market Place.
Developers would build it free in exchange for surrounding high-density development rights fit for mid-Manhattan, but outrageous for here. It would have raped the environment. We lucked out only because the Japanese funding for the project withdrew in January 1992.
My heroes of the subsequent years leading up to what we have today are a brash, politically savvy, former chairman of the Convention Center Authority, Donald M. Takaki, and the full-time executive director, Alan Hayashi, with a strong engineering background.
Takaki, chairman and CEO of Island Movers, Hawaii's largest moving company, was a golf buddy of Gov. John Waihee, who appointed him. Hayashi hired on after helping the City and County of Honolulu build its HPOWER plant.
Both men say Fort DeRussy would have been the ideal site but was stopped by "over our dead bodies" resident political opposition led by then-state Sen. Mary-Jane McMurdo.
With DeRussy out, the Queen Emma Foundation promoted an Ala Wai Golf Course site near its Waikiki properties. Outrigger Hotel/Kelley interests pushed for their land in the Hobron Lane area, across the Ala Wai Canal from the finally chosen Aloha Motors site.
Flooding, golfer opposition and environmental threats would have delayed a golf course go-ahead. Hobron Lane has a significant resident population to relocate. The Aloha Motors site already was cleared. Once it won a hot legislative battle, it was bought for $136 million of the $350 million appropriated.
FROM the remainder, Takaki and Hayashi fought for and won a design-build strategy never before used on such a scale in Hawaii. The winning builder-designer consortium would get $200 million period -- no more, no less. The competition thus was over quality of the product offered.
By unanimous choice of two review teams the winner was Nordic/PCL, a Honolulu-Seattle consortium -- with PCL experienced in convention sites. The WATG architectural firm of Hawaii was hired to assure Hawaiianness in the design.
That's all there is, really, except that one could -- and should --fill a book with the in-fighting details
At least six times the Legislature was willing to pull the plug on the project. Hundreds of slings and arrows were aimed at Takaki and Hayashi in particular. Takaki says that to many he was Public Enemy No. 1, but instead felt like football Coach Knute Rockne arousing locker room emotion to save the center.
From here on it will be up to the Hawaii Tourism Authority to move ahead. Possible, perhaps, is an urban renewal approach to the surrounding area to assure quality upgrades in the center's neighborhood if market forces don't provide them.
A.A. Smyser is the contributing editor
and former editor of the the Star-Bulletin
His column runs Tuesday and Thursday.