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Maui mill’s preservation
in limbo
Before work begins on a local landmark,
officials need to see plans for maintenance
LAHAINA » James Walker worries that a big wind could blow off pieces of the defunct sugar mill nearby and injure a neighbor.
"When the wind blows, the fiberglass sheets curl up. Pieces break off. Those heavy corrugated metal sheets -- a couple of them ripped off," said Walker. "If someone gets hurt, it's going to be a major sue job."
It's been about five years since Pioneer Mill Co. in West Maui closed, and residents who live along neighboring Kahua Street are waiting for word on what's going to be done with the 19.6-acre site.
Walker, spokesman for the Kahua Street residents, said the landowner, Pioneer Mill Co., has tried to reduce the number of rats that cross the road from the mill to residences at night. But he said problems associated with the site persist.
Adding to the problems are several years of unresolved talks about the future of the site among the landowner's agent, Kaanapali Development Corp., Maui County and historic preservation advocates.
In 2001, after community objections, Kaanapali Development scuttled plans to raze most of the site, including the smokestack. But no proposals have been put forth since then to finance the preservation and maintenance of the smokestack or any other structures on the site.
The firm said a 2001 engineering report estimated that restoring the smokestack alone would cost nearly $300,000.
The 200-foot smokestack is the first landmark most people notice when entering Lahaina town.
The mill was established in the 1860s and played an important role in the development of the sugar cane industry in West Maui. In the 1960s, Amfac, the mill's owner, developed the Kaanapali Resort.
JMB Realty Corp., a Chicago-based real estate corporation, purchased Amfac in 1988 and shut down the sugar mill in 1999, citing more than $7 million in losses in five years.
Lahaina Restoration Foundation Executive Director George "Keoki" Freeland said he and a number of other individuals are interested in preserving portions of the plant, including the smokestack and the mill office.
While Kaanapali Development has excluded the smokestack and mill office from a demolition application, it has not provided a plan for restoring either structure.
County officials said they are unable to complete their assessment of the demolition plan without a plan for restoration. Under state law, a historical and structural assessment of a building is required before demolition, if it is more than 50 years old.
State and county preservation officials informed Kaanapali Development last month that its demolition application was incomplete.
The Maui County Cultural Resources Commission said a preservation plan for the smokestack should be prepared, along with a plan for its care and maintenance. The commission and county planning department also recommended an engineering analysis of each building's physical condition.
"We really don't have adequate information to tell whether or not the buildings can be saved," Planning Director Michael Foley said. "In this case, I think we're going to end up with most of the buildings being demolished and being able to save a few of them."
Commissioners also recommended that a qualified firm determine the economic feasibility of adaptive reuse of some or all of the historic structures and use "Pioneer Mill" as part of the site's name for future developments.
Foley said the department opposes a large commercial facility on the site because it would pull visitors away from the commercial core along Front Street and create traffic problems on Lahainaluna Road and Honoapiilani Highway.
Kaanapali Development said it has retained consultants to work on an assessment of the buildings and develop a history of the sugar company. The firm's project manager, Jeffrey Rebugio, said the firm is continuing to make repairs at the mill site as problems arise.
"We're taking care of what is brought to our attention, but there's only so much you can do," Rebugio said.
Walker, a retired Maui police sergeant who has lived on Kahua Street since 1969, said he would like to see the smokestack preserved because he knows fishermen still use it as a landmark, and he has fond memories of his children waiting eagerly to see the smokestack as they rode home from the other side of the island.
Lovelette said he was happy to work with the community to find ways to preserve the smokestack.
"Just saying you want to preserve it is one thing. Affording it is another," Lovelette said.
