Pacific Quay takes step forward
Their mixed-use waterfront project at Honolulu Harbor got the green light yesterday
Pacific Quay, a mixed-use waterfront project proposed by a Texas developer at Piers 5 and 6 of Honolulu Harbor, got the green light yesterday to move forward.
The state Aloha Tower Development Corp. approved a rule change that would allow Dallas-based Hughes Development LP to go ahead and build its project. Kenneth Hughes, president of Hughes Development, says he expects to select a contractor by the end of January, and begin construction in the middle of next year.
"The development of the waterfront for the people of Hawaii has been a vision of the Legislature for quite some time," Hughes told the Star-Bulletin from Texas. "We are the recipients of that good decision. I think we can implement that plan in a very successful way."
Hughes envisions building up to 300 leasehold condominiums, along with retail shops, restaurants, a private club, parking garage, pedestrian promenade and interisland ferry terminal at Piers 5 and 6.
The condos -- described as mid-rise, with allowable building heights of up to 130 feet -- would include some units set aside for hotel use or time-shares.
Final details of the project, including financial terms, have yet to be worked out.
ATDC, an agency that oversees the redevelopment of state property surrounding the historic Aloha Tower, had to amend its rules to permit the residential and commercial uses requested by Hughes on industrial-zoned land.
Hughes, who first proposed the project about five years ago, would enter a 65-year lease for the lands from the state.
He originally had a more ambitious master plan that would have included streetcars linking the new development to downtown Honolulu, and would have required the removal of Hawaiian Electric Co.'s nearby power plant.
In July, the ATDC board approved plans for the first phase of Hughes' project, a $300 million plan that included the retail and residential developments.
Hughes said he is still interested in pursuing phase two of the project at Piers 10 and 11, which includes a boutique hotel, more parking and a cruise ship terminal. He also said he still hopes to incorporate the entire master plan one day.
At a public hearing held on Dec. 12, only one person testified in opposition to the development. Sen. Gordon Trimble (R, Waikiki-Downtown) said he opposed residential uses at the harbor, and that it should be reserved for maritime uses.
Seven individuals testified in favor of the project, while a representative of AHI Aloha Associates LLC, the owners of the Aloha Tower Marketplace, expressed concerns over the loss of parking due to construction. AHI Aloha, however, supported the project.
No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition of the development yesterday.
Sen. Trimble said yesterday he still opposes the project.
"There is no other place in the world that I know of that puts non-maritime uses in a working harbor," Trimble said. "When you live on an island, there are limited places you can put them. The state should be aggressively pursuing maritime solutions."
To ensure that there's been enough public input, the ATDC put together a 16-member public advisory group that will meet regularly as the project evolves.
