Airport renovations When he looks at the interactive exhibits, the memorabilia, even the wares for sale in the gift shop, Don Parent sees unlimited possibilities for the Pacific Aerospace Museum.
to shake up
aerospace museum
Museum officials fear bankruptcy
at a site without a gift shopBy B.J. Reyes
Star-BulletinParent, the museum's executive director, can see a day when the museum might grow to include not only its location at the Honolulu Airport, but a branch elsewhere on Oahu.
But as the Department of Transportation begins airport renovations to expand the retail sales potential of the space, Parent says he believes the museum's days are numbered.
"There are a lot of things we'd like to do, but under the circumstances, our existence is at best tenuous," he said.
Renovations call for moving the museum to a location with only about 2,000 square feet, about one-third the museum's current space, Parent said.
Additionally, Parent says the Transportation Department is asking the museum to close the gift shop that the museum received special permission to open five years ago.
"This is going to almost guarantee our demise," Parent said. "If you tuck us away by Check Station 4, then force us to close down our gift shop, that almost certainly will guarantee that we are unable to cover our operating costs."
Renovations that will reconfigure the museum's space into a new security checkpoint will begin May 23 and are expected to be completed in December, transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said.
The changes are being made in accordance with a study, completed about a year ago, that showed how the airport could better use its retail space and increase revenue.
"It's very incumbent upon us to maximize our revenue potential so we are bringing in enough money to operate the airport," she said.
She disagreed that the move might ultimately force the museum's closure.
"We look upon them primarily as an educational program," Kali said. "They have a lot of school kids going through the program that come here specifically for that purpose, so we don't see that the program will be affected at all."
As far as the museum's move, which will be about 300 feet Diamond Head of where it is now, "We think they'll be more visible," Kali said.
Regardless, Parent does not see the museum lasting much longer without a gift shop.
When he took over operations six years ago, he said, the museum was bankrupt. One solution was to secure special permission to open a gift shop after convincing airport officials that the museum would not be competing with duty-free stores. But as the museum prepares to move, Parent said the Transportation Department has informed him that the museum is in default of its lease and must stop selling merchandise. Parent said the museum intends to comply, and he still is hoping to reach a compromise with the department for both a different location and permission to sustain its gift shop.
"I do not want to see any money spent on a location that's going to guarantee our bankruptcy," said Parent, a retired naval officer. "They were budgeting $600,000 for our move. If that $600,000 is going to move us to a location that would guarantee our bankruptcy, that would be criminal."
"We've done a lot of good, we really have," he said. "I certainly understand where the Department of Transportation is coming from, but there's got to be more to that airport than the bottom line."