Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Duking it out Residents of some of the most expensive real estate in Hawaii are in a gentle tug-of-war with the will of Doris Duke, once one of the world's richest women, fearing it could create a commercial enterprise in their Diamond Head neighborhood.
over ‘Shangri-La’
Cautious concern brews
Giving spirit honored
over plans for Duke estate
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinAt issue is "Shangri-La," Duke's home at Black Point, now owned by the New York City-based Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Within a few weeks, Jim Stubenberg, the foundation's attorney in Honolulu, hopes to apply for a conditional use permit from the city to designate Duke's 4.9-acre oceanfront estate as a multipurpose meeting and educational facility.
According to the tobacco heiress's will, the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art -- created after her death in 1993 -- will "promote the study and understanding of Middle Eastern art and culture" at Shangri-La.Earlier this month, the 9-member Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board unanimously approved the foundation's request to create the conference and educational center.
Over the last few months, Joan Spero, president of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, has met at the estate with many of Duke's neighbors, two neighborhood boards, the governor and mayor.
Stubenberg also has appeared at two neighborhood board meetings since July, explaining the foundation's plans. But details were not discussed, because none currently exist, he said.
That has some of Duke's neighbors worried.
William and Susan Fuller have lived in a Papu Circle home facing the estate's security gate for three decades.
"I won't commit one way or the other on their plan until I know the specifics, like hours of operation, how many workers will be down there, number of visitors being driven in each day, how many vans will be used, and how often," William Fuller said. "Until we see the conditional use permit application, no one knows what they're really planning to do; we only know what they said they were going to do."Papu Circle resident Leilani Thomas, 72, endorses the Honolulu Academy of Arts use of the estate as designated in Duke's will, but she worries that visiting school children will make the peaceful neighborhood noisier and more congested.
"You'll have too many young kids just hanging around the area," Thomas said.
Though operational plans remain in the "embryonic stage," Stubenberg insisted "there will be no weddings, restaurants or commercial cooking of any kind, no general public tours, or public parking related to estate business in the neighborhood."
Several Papu Circle residents on the makai side of the street are taking a low profile in any public criticism of foundation plans, because they fear losing million-
dollar ocean views.
From the 1960s until the 1980s, Duke allowed trees and bushes along the mauka side of her property to be trimmed to prevent blocking the ocean view of a half-dozen neighbors. But in the mid- '80s, she stopped the trimming. The vegetation then grew as high as 10 feet over Papu Circle walls, obliterating all ocean views.
About two years ago, the foundation agreed to trim the vegetation twice a year "to be a good neighbor," Stubenberg said.
"We're all afraid to go public about the foundation's plans because our agreement is just a handshake," a 37-year Papu Circle resident said.
"All of us are concerned about increased traffic, noise and construction down there," said another resident who requested anonymity. "But I won't take any chance of losing this view. That's what they're holding on us."
Attorney Stubenberg said there's never been any effort to gag homeowners' concerns.
The only specific discussed by the foundation so far has been possible use of as many as three 12-passenger vans to bring visitors to the estate up to three times a day, Stubenberg said.
A conditional use permit application has yet to be filed by the foundation, although it has applied to the city Department of Planning and Permitting for a variance. That's because the estate has less than the required 75 feet of street frontage necessary for a conditional use permit for a multi-purpose meeting facility in a residential neighborhood. The Duke estate has just 50 feet of frontage on its cul-de-sac.
Still, Stubenberg is confident the variance will be approved. Pending that approval, the foundation will apply for a conditional use permit, which should take about two months to process, he said. No public hearing is expected since the proposal received unanimous support from the neighborhood board.
Only if and when the permit is approved can the foundation move forward with its plans and that could take as long as two years to become operational.
Trustees first would have to hire a site director to help create, formulate and supply proposed art and educational programs. The estate must also be constructed to comply with requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and install a fire control system, Stubenberg said.
In her will, Duke directed that the Honolulu Academy of Arts be allowed to use the premises to display its Middle Eastern art collection without charge. But "in the event that funds derived from admission fees charged to the public are inadequate to staff and maintain properly the land, grounds, buildings, furniture, furnishings and art held here, supplemental funds for such purposes shall be provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation," the will says.
Academy director George Ellis said despite the will's content, "there has never been or will ever be" discussions about paid admissions to the estate because that isn't allowed in a residential neighborhood.
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is responsible for three properties, located in Hillsborough, N.J.; Newport, R.I.; and Honolulu. Foundation honors
Duke’s giving spiritUnder the terms of Duke's will, the properties have been transferred to operating foundations she created. Through 2000, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation will work with the following operating foundations on research, planning and developing strategies for use of the properties:
The Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art at Shangri-La, Duke's home at Black Point on Oahu, is intended to "promote the study and understanding of Middle Eastern art and culture."
Duke collected many different kinds of art, notably Islamic and Southeast Asian, and participated personally in their conservation. Shangri-La is filled with her Islamic collection, including tapestries on which guests still walk, and a Moghul garden. About 30 people work at the estate, including 20 security guards.
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is helping foundation staff curate the art pieces and taking steps to preserve them.
The foundation preserves over 80 colonial and federal-era houses in Newport; maintains a museum of Newport furniture and decoration; and maintains a historic farm. Duke directed that Rough Point be transferred to the Newport Restoration Foundation and be opened to the public. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is responsible for providing funds to maintain the home.
In her lifetime, Duke distributed nearly $400 million in current dollars, often anonymously, to a variety of charitable causes. When she died in 1993 at age 80, she left her fortune and properties to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to provide continuing support for the causes she loved. Her will proposes that the foundation support a variety of charitable interests, including environmental and ecological causes, medical research, and the performing arts.
The foundation's assets currently are about $1.5 billion. As of Dec. 31, 1999, the foundation has awarded 102 grants and committed nearly $120 million in program, planning, capital and endowment funding to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States.
Tim Ryan, Star-Bulletin