TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Bankoh starts statewide
branch renovation planBankoh's branch buildings are now the focus of the bank's mission to refocus on Hawaii.
Its statewide renovation project may mean lots of work for potentially lots of contractors and subcontractors as work progresses.
"We have always done regular maintenance and upkeep of the branch network to keep them in good working repair, but major renovations like these really haven't been done in probably 15 years or so," said Dave Thomas, vice chairman of retail banking.
"This is a multimillion dollar investment that we'll be doing over the next few years."
Luersen Architects Inc. was retained to come up with a master plan that will be customized for each branch to be renovated; the bank has a prioritized list.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The first branch in Bank of Hawaii's statewide renovation plan was the 40-year-old Pearl Harbor location, which was moved to a new space on Malaai Street in Salt Lake.
It started with the relocation of the 40-year old Pearl Harbor branch into brand new space on Malaai Street in Salt Lake. The new branch, accessible to the public, coincided with the rebuilding of the Navy Exchange complex, Thomas said.
In August, work began in the Waialae-Kahala and Keeaumoku Street branches. Those projects are to be completed in late November or early December, Thomas said.
Scaffolding outside the Waialae-Kahala branch is there in support of the lobby expansion work, "to add more convenience for our customers there," he said.
"We treat each of those locations as a separate contract and bid it out separately," he said.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Bank of Hawaii hasn't done a major refurbishing of branches in about 15 years, said Dave Thomas, vice chairman of retail banking.
Kakaako draws Harvard
Harvard University urban planning and design students have redrawn Kakaako at the direction of one of their professors, Honolulu architect Janine Clifford of Clifford Planning LLC.Harvard's first distant-learning graduate and now faculty member, Clifford is leading a group of students through a class project on the urban redevelopment of the Kakaako district.
"The Harvard design school is world-renowned," said Jeff Dinsmore, general manager of Victoria Ward Ltd. "Hopefully we can get some good ideas and certainly learn from them. They've got a lot of bright people."
Students presented their initial renderings to city and business leaders yesterday after touring the island and learning about local culture.
Tonight they head back to Cambridge, Mass., with the local input they'll need to adjust their designs.
The distant learning will continue as well, but this time it's going from west to east with Clifford doing the teaching.
Big fish tale
Chances are that every person interested in billfishing did not contribute to one of the big revenue generators for Kona businesses, the annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.However, regular viewers of The Outdoor Channel around the country caught glimpses of its one hour tournament special last night.
The channel goes to as many as 52 million homes via cable and satellite distribution.
The channel is offered locally on Oceanic Time Warner Cable channel 212, where the special will be rebroadcast at 10 a.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. It may also be viewed via DirecTV and the DISH Network.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com
