The state has embarked on a worldwide search for a developer to turn Honolulu Harbor's Piers 5 and 6 into a commercial complex that would meet three state goals -- establishing a terminal for an Oahu commuter ferry, creating stalls for the parking-starved Aloha Tower Marketplace and providing a new office complex for the state harbors division. State seeks proposals
to develop waterfrontThe plans for piers 5 and 6
must include a ferry terminalBy Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com
The state's Aloha Tower Development Corp. launched the process last week with an advertised request for proposals, seeking a developer to take over the 6.1-acre area now used for parking, a public park and a terminal for the Navatek cruises. The opportunity was published in local newspapers and soon will go national and international with advertisements in magazines aimed at developers and venture capitalists, state officials said.
The development corporation had negotiated exclusively with one group, Rainbow Pier Development LLC, which had a proposal for a hotel, condominium, entertainment and ferry terminal complex stretching to the Ala Moana streetfront and encompassing some 16 acres.
When the group did not come up with all the details in time, including financing, the state board went back to its original intent to send out a broad request for ideas.
Setting a deadline of 5 p.m. Nov. 21, the agency set few guidelines and left the concepts up to the would-be developers, saying it wants to see "an innovative mixed-use project" that fits with its desire "to enhance the public's access to, and enjoyment of, the waterfront."
There are some rules, however.
Developers must agree to provide facilities for an "intra-island" ferry service, including drop-off areas and short-term parking. That would allow a ferry service to bring passengers from other parts of Oahu to downtown. The developer would not have to provide the ferry service itself but should offer 10,000 square feet of space for a terminal, the bid document says.
The developer also must provide at least 750 parking stalls for Aloha Tower Marketplace and 30,000 square feet of office space for the Department of Transportation's harbor operations.
There would also have to be enough infrastructure in the complex, between the U.S. Coast Guard station and the Maritime Museum, to allow a tourist-related dive business, New World Divers International Dive Center, to set up a base on top of what are now bare piles next to the site. The state is concluding negotiations to lease that space to the dive company.
The harbors division says it will need a 20-foot strip along the entire waterfront length of Piers 5 and 6 for maritime activities.
The Aloha Tower agency is willing to enter into a 65-year lease and hopes to announce a winner in mid-December."
Copies of the request for proposals are available from the contracts office of the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, on the fifth floor of the No. 1 Capitol District, sometimes called the Hemmeter Building.
