Pali Lanes supporters rallying to save the Kailua bowling alley delivered a petition with more than 5,000 signatures to the headquarters of property owner Alexander &Baldwin on Wednesday.

The signatures were collected in an online campaign dubbed “#SavePaliLanes,” which was launched a few days before Christmas by community activist Evan Weber, and also collected on paper at the bowling alley’s front counter by co-owner Art Machado.

A&B announced last year that after Jan. 31, 2019, it plans to redevelop the property after the bowling alley’s lease expires, galvanizing Pali Lanes supporters. In addition to delivering the petition, members of Our Kailua plan to appear at the Kailua Neighborhood Board meeting this evening.

The group of four, led by Tekla Weber, arrived at A&B headquarters on Bishop Street at 4 p.m. and waited in the lobby for about half an hour, hoping to meet with an A&B representative personally to deliver the petition, but had not made an appointment.

“Unfortunately, nobody was available to meet with them,” said A&B spokesman Darren Pai. “But we appreciate them bringing information. We always welcome more input from the community.”

The bowling alley has been on a month-to-month lease with no change in rent since 2013, Pai said, and the new lease will waive four months of rent to help the owners through 2018 as they prepare for the transition.

“We’ve been reaching out and listening to people across the community in Kailua and have heard a lot of different viewpoints,” Pai said in an email prior to the petition’s delivery on Wednesday. “We’ve consistently heard the community wants more open gathering spaces in the heart of Kailua town. We have been considering a number of different options, including preserving the bowling alley. However, in order to provide gathering spaces that will benefit the entire community, we need to redevelop the area.”

Pai said A&B routinely monitors Kailua neighborhood meetings, but was not planning to attend this evening.

But Pali Lanes supporters say that so far, A&B has not consulted with the community about future plans for the area, or presented any master plan or specifics.

Tekla Weber, Evan’s mother, said she has nominated the 57-year-old building for the National Register of Historic Places.

The retro pink building that houses Pali Lanes at 120 Hekili St. is noted as reflective of mid-century architecture, with its patterned, concrete screen and Quonset-hut shape.

“It could be a cool pinnacle of Kailua because of its unique architecture,” she said. “If we had the opportunity to retain Pali Lanes, there’s so much that could be done to bring it back to its original glory.”

The building was designed by Wimberly &Cook Architects, according to a May 19, 1961, article about its grand opening in the Honolulu Advertiser, which described it as a $1 million “dream of concrete” featuring Puna lava slabs, curved tiles and wood.

Inside, the walls surrounding the 24-lane bowling alley are painted with a marine animal seascape by the late artist Ron Artis.

Pali Lanes sits on 1.7 acres of commercial land valued at about $5.6 million, according to Honolulu property tax records. A&B, the state’s fourth-largest private landowner, owns 90 percent of the retail buildings in Kailua.

Machado said he is hopeful of extending the lease another few years, with growing community support, including Honolulu City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi.

In a Feb. 2 letter addressed to A&B President Christopher Benjamin, Kobayashi asked for a “reconsideration of the decision to close this historic landmark.” She said “its departure would be a tremendous loss to the community.”

Pali Lanes also has the support of professional bowler Randy Pedersen, who plans to be at an upcoming fundraising event this month.