COURTESY OF RUSSELL SCOTT BURDITT
Russell Scott Burditt, whose drawing of the exterior is shown here, suggests that the old sewage pump house in Kakaako could be used for historical archives and other government offices. Burditt’s other ideas included converting the historic structure into an attractive retail center.
Pumped up
Restaurant? Museum? Marketplace?
Ukulele factory? Ideas for renovating
the century-old building flood inPlenty of ideas have been
hatched, then abandoned
Through the decades various individuals and groups have tried to create something useful from the old sewage pump station on Ala Moana Boulevard at Keawe Street. Entrepreneurs have made plans, investors have pledged money, restaurateurs have expressed interest, but nothing has happened. As reader Allen St. James (among others) pointed out, "The state has rejected these numerous plans ... over and over and over again. Good ideas, architectural plans, studies, all down the drain. All snubbed. Rejected."
A quick search on starbulletin.com turns up a trail of hopeful headlines.
>> June 3, 1997: "Eateries, museum, mystery project proposed for pump station: The state will hear pitches from three developers next month."Great ideas, solid planning and willing investors, but somehow none of it came to fruition and the pump house continues to rot away. So why bother getting the readers' input? Because that's our building. We don't have to lie back and let this once-elegant structure -- designated "historic" in 1978 -- crumble away to dust. The least we can do is let the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state organization that oversees Kakaako and its development, know that we're paying attention.Sounds promising.
>> From Aug. 7, 1997: "Restaurant, microbrewery to replace pump station."
Microbrewery? Alright!
>> Sept. 7, 1997: "The 97-year-old pump and sewage station ... will be transformed into a combination restaurant, microbrewery, deli and 4,000-square-foot open-air market," according to a story about the Hawaii Community Development Authority's plans for Kakaako. "Completion is expected in October 1998."
Grab your shopping bag.
>> Aug. 6, 1998: "Pump station plan changes its tune: Singer Henry Kapono has joined the developer."
Uh-oh, we've heard this song before.
>> June 3, 1999: "Celebrity chef (Wolfgang Puck) seeks pump house site."
Puck, where are you?
Whatever ultimately is done with the old building, one thing is clear: The word "sewage" should have no part of it.
Many respondents suggested that the building have some sort of tourism-related purpose, and that playing up its historic designation would help attract visitors. As Marilyn Rittenhouse Harris pointed out, using the building as a tourism center would tie in with HCDA's plans for an open market and fish auction in Kakaako. Showcasing local arts, culture or agriculture was a frequent suggestion. A few readers suggested that the property should be sold to some type of business, but the pump station's historic designation makes that impossible.
>> "The building should be turned into an information stop and mini-museum (featuring Hawaiiana) for tourists and locals, and touted as the Gateway to Waikiki. It would contain public restrooms, a restaurant with open-air seating, Hawaiian music and dancing stage during daylight hours (featuring local groups), free pineapple juice, short movies about early Waikiki and surrounding areas, parking for tour buses and Hawaiian landscaping. This could be financed by putting out a contract for leasing the area and all upgrades to the facility borne by the developer, and collecting a yearly use cost for 20 years from the developer upon completion." -- Adriano Lorenzo Jr.
>> "It would make a great museum and tourist information center. But let's just call it 'The Pump Station' and leave off the 'sewage' part." -- Nancy Bey Little
>> "I worked many years in the old Gold Bond building (next door to the pump station). I think there is enough land to keep up the main structure and have a drive-through visitor information center. Tourists could drive through and receive an 'aloha packet' of information including where to find sites such as the new state art museum, and how much the average surfing lesson should cost.
"Revenue could be generated through businesses that want to be included in directories or packets. Perhaps weekly a vendor would provide a special small gift, like an individually wrapped cookie or a bookmark on how not to get sunburned." -- Geri Marullo
>> "(To save money), why not use a civic-minded group like the Outdoor Circle, Lions or Rotary? Let the city do the initial sprucing up and place a plaque on the structure, then let the volunteers take over." -- Steven Burke
>> "The distinctive architecture makes it an attraction, so I suggest the building should be restored, then manned as a tourist information center. Tourists could buy souvenirs from the city store (move it from Ala Moana Center and those rental expenses!).
"I also would recommend that the Honolulu Police Department man a desk there to handle complaints and traffic advice, and that the Better Business Bureau man a desk so tourists can investigate guides and tours before booking." -- Rico Leffanta
DRAWING COURTESY OF JOHN WERRILL
Reader John Werrill’s concept, as shown in his drawing (above), includes creating space for fire and police department vehicles and using existing smaller buildings as resting places for firefighters.
FILE PHOTO
The tree shown in the foreground of the file photo at left would be moved to keep the front area clear. A two-foot-high wall made of material similar to the main building surrounds the property. Small plants and floral boxes decorate the building.
Keep out!
>> "I would like to see it refurbished. A plaque with all of its historical data somewhere in the front would be nice. Have the area fenced and the building locked so it can be viewed only from the outside, with the gates closed at night. Put in a concrete walkway and a colorful garden for ambience. Install lighting to keep the graffiti artists away at night, and a security camera." -- Raymond Feliciano>> "The subsurface situation is a mess of historic sewage infrastructure leaking hazardous wastes. Perhaps the realistic thing to do is remove the building and reassemble it on a new site, perhaps nearer Waikiki, the Aloha Tower or Ala Moana Center. The old site could be capped with clay to seal the toxins and made into a city park site." -- Lance M. Foster, director of Native Rights, Land, and Culture for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
>> "When I moved here about a year and half ago and first saw the pump station, I wondered why nothing had ever been done with it. I thought it would make a great restaurant or club house for VFW or some such. Now that I know what it was originally, I understand why it has not become a restaurant. It would make a great extension of the Bishop Museum or any other museum, with emphasis on early Hawaiian culture. Every time I drive by it I think 'What a waste of a beautiful building.'" -- Willard Barchenger
>> "Disassemble it and move it to the Bishop Museum property." -- George O'Sullivan
>> "Last spring the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Hawaii Section, suggested using the pumping station as a Hawaii engineering museum. The HCDA has advised us that when the decision process for the development of the site is initiated, we will be on the list of people to be contacted to submit a proposal.
"I suggest that the museum cover all fields of engineering such as agriculture, pineapple processing and military. Displays would include maps showing how to get to engineering landmarks such as the radar site where the Dec. 7, 1941, raiders were first detected. This site is designated as an National Engineering Landmark, as are many others in the state." -- James F. Grogan, past chairman, Hawaii Section, ASME
Arts and plants
>> "I pass by the pump station all the time and think, 'What a great place for an arts center.' Not a stodgy one, but a place people gravitate to because it's fun to be there. It would have a restaurant like Big City Diner and coffee like Starbucks but more local. It would have music and dancing, and studio space for artists so the public could mingle with them. It would be a gathering place for creative people to share, for the public to find fun and inspiration and for art to thrive." -- Mayra Vega>> "Make it the entry structure to a new Hawaii agriculture and horticulture showplace under an iron-and-glass pitched roof reminiscent of the great European urban marketplaces. Tour buses could stop to see a display of the fruits, vegetables and flowers available from all the islands. Downtown folks and restaurants could shop for produce there." -- Neal Lebsack
>> "I know Honolulu has many beautiful museums, gardens and galleries, but perhaps a gallery to showcase the artwork of Honolulu's school children might encourage the city's young artists." -- Deborah Hendrick, League City, Texas
>> "Why not create a tropical/ agricultural oasis, using volunteers to up keep the grounds? Maybe the building should be converted into some type of historical agriculture museum. Get some of the local ag producers to contribute sugar cane, pineapple, coffee and other plants." -- Kenneth Panosh
Odds and ends
>> "Take it apart and move it to Pearl City to replace the hideous green monstrosity that I believe is a Board of Water Supply pumping station on the corner of Waimano Home Road and Wahinani Street." -- Miles Kaneshiro>> "I would think a coffee house or small restaurant would work (with an Internet cafe). It would be a fun place to go." -- Nick Anderson, Baltimore, Md.
>> "I suggest that the building be deeded to the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii to be used for business development." -- Bob Duckworth
>> "The old sewage pump could be refurbished to act as a sea water cooling pump for the air-conditioning system for the new medical school. It doesn't seem like a stretch to convert a sludge pump into a seawater pump." -- Christina Chun
>> "I first noticed that building when I was about 6 years old, when my father used to take us kids to the Coca-Cola plant on Keawe Street. The branch growing out of the tower always fascinated me.
"The primary task at hand is to make sure that the building not be demolished. Restore it, patrol it, light it up, preserve it. It does not have to be put to any practical use. It is architecture, and like art, like a painting, all it has to do is sit there." -- Glenn S. Yoshida
"Find a way to make it into a short-term resort for really old people who are still active." -- Louise Burbank
>> "A radio or TV station. A doctor (near the new medical school) or dentist would love to move in. How about an architect? A church might love a chance, and the smokestack looks like a steeple. The best use would be anything to save it!" -- Warner Kimo Sutton
Conspiracy theory
>> "For many years, ideas for reclamation and use have been suggested; however, all were turned down. Why?"Apparently someone is waiting patiently in the wings for the assured destruction of the building so the lot can be put to proper use as a parking lot or car dealership. Why else would we watch trees take root in the roof and windows continue to be broken?" -- Arnold van Fossen
>> "Kamaka Hawaii has manufactured ukuleles since 1916. The ukulele factory has been located on South Street in Kakaako since 1959. Several years ago, we expressed interest in moving the factory to the pumping station, but received no response from the development authority. We love the beautiful craftsmanship and elegance of the pumping station.
"I should note that the construction costs of renovating a historic building are significant, which explains why the pumping station has remained vacant for so long. It would require a large amount of outside private funding." -- Fred Kamaka Jr.
>> "Refurbish the building and set up offices for the coordination of state or volunteer recycling programs. (I have no idea what condition the buildings are in.)" -- Charles Ka'ai'ai
>> "With an active restaurant, club and marketplace at the pump house, the state would be realizing its goal of more tax revenue, which seems to be the main justification for implementing other, much less worthy redevelopment projects.
"Almost any business occupying the locale would help in the renewal and preservation of this grand structure, preventing its further deterioration and decline, which is the result now with the state's apathy toward this beautiful landmark. This reprehensible situation exists even though the HCDA, with a tagline of 'bringing together public and private resources to redevelop Kakaako,' states its mission is to 'ensure that the area is invigorated and established as a dynamic urban neighborhood' and 'create an outstanding physical neighborhood which will be known for its environmental excellence.'
"Ah, yes. With all these noble mission proclamations, the state allows the structure to slowly disintegrate.
"One speculates the ulterior motive is to allow it to fall down into a rubble pile some day and say, 'Oh, well, now we need to sell it to another 46-story condo developer!'
"So, in answer to your question, I say: Take it out of the state's hands. Turn the whole thing over to real business. Force the state to allow a decent business plan to be implemented. Give the business concern a little time. A while back, it is reported, the Kakaako authority required $7,500 rent for each month a prospective project was in development. Imagine paying this for a year and a half before your restaurant opens.
"The government is not business. It is, by nature, anti-business; and state bureaucracy, by nature and by proof of history, prevents good business ideas from being implemented. There is no excuse or justification for the pump house to remain in its current condition." -- Allen St. James
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On its Web site (www.hcdaweb.org), the HCDA tell us: "The overall vision for (Kakaako, makai of Ala Moana Blvd.) is to create an active, vibrant area through a variety of new developments, including an expansive waterfront park, maritime uses along the harbor, restaurants, seafood markets and entertainment along Kewalo Basin, a children's museum and a theater for performing arts, a world-class aquarium, and commercial development of the interior areas.
"For those interested in developing new projects in Kakaako, we are eager to assist and work closely with you to make new projects a reality."
There it is, in black and white. Our readers' ideas dovetail perfectly with the Kakaako development authority's stated goals. Paying for the necessary renovations seems to be the main reason why nobody has succeeded with plans for the pump house. When developer Richard Weiser and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck wanted to turn the pump house into a restaurant, the development authority demanded a minimum of $7,500 a month rent to be paid for the 17 months before the restaurant would be ready to open. That was in addition to more than $200,000 Weiser's group already had paid in architectural and engineering fees and other costs.
The state should work with investors to help them get started, not dash their hopes with budget-busting costs before their business even opens. Let's get moving, HCDA.
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[ NEXT MONTH'S BRAINSTORM! ]
Can you design a quarter
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