Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
City sets aside The city is moving forward with plans to acquire a 33,000-square-foot property in the heart of Waikiki for a park and underground parking lot.
$1.5 mil for park,
parking lot in
mid-Waikiki
Residents had opposed plans
for a 33-story senior facility
on the vacant lotBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-BulletinMayor Jeremy Harris' capital improvements budget for the coming year includes $1.5 million to acquire the vacant lot at Seaside Avenue and Aloha Drive, one block mauka of Kuhio Drive.
Ernest Nowell, owner of the property, was looking to build a 33-story senior-living facility at the site and had been seeking exemptions.
But after area residents criticized the proposed development, City Councilman Duke Bainum last year shepherded through a bill that designates the parcel as a park site.
The city set aside $1 million for the project last year, contingent on matching funding from the state.
But state funding never materialized, and Bainum said he hopes next year's $1.5 million will be enough to acquire the land.
A condemnation action by the city would force the developer to give up his land, but the city would need to pay fair market value for the property, based on an independent appraisal.
Bainum noted that the city Real Property Tax Division has assessed the parcel most recently at $1.9 million.
The park would be "an oasis of green in a sea of concrete," Bainum said.
"It would be enhancing the pedestrian experience and making it a more livable community."
Bainum said he also hopes the parking lot will be the first of a series of lots that will encourage Oahu residents to visit Waikiki.
William Sweatt, who lives at the nearby Royal Kuhio high-rise, is among those who helped with a petition drive.
About 700 signatures were collected from those opposing the proposed development.
Sweatt said a large-scale structure on the site would have been devastating, noting that there are 10 condominium and three hotels within a 300-foot radius.
Attorneys for Nowell declined comment.
City & County of Honolulu
