The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is prepared to seek proposals for redeveloping a former bowling alley in Moiliili that could provide homes for beneficiaries.
DHHL indicated in a document published by the state last week that it anticipates releasing a request for private developers to submit proposals for a vacant 1.9-acre property that used to be Stadium Bowl-O-Drome.
This is the third time in 16 years that the agency established largely to provide housing for Native Hawaiians is attempting to transform the site into a higher and better use.
DHHL explained its new effort briefly in an environmental impact statement preparation notice.
The notice said the agency anticipates issuing the development proposal request and putting the top three or four proposals in a draft EIS report.
Public comments on the draft EIS will be used to help the agency decide what plan to pursue, the notice said.
Plans to be considered will involve either a commercial or other revenue-generating land use, residential use or a combination of both commercial and residential uses, the notice said.
“The primary project purpose is to redevelop the project site to address the need for housing alternatives for beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Land Trust,” the notice said. “A secondary project purpose is to provide increased revenue generation for DHHL.”
DHHL noted that about 45 percent of applicants for residential property leases statewide are looking for homesteading opportunities on Oahu, where only
4 percent of the agency’s landholdings are located.
It could take one to two years to get through the plan selection and environmental review process, DHHL said, adding that it anticipates consulting with beneficiaries and the surrounding community during the process.
If redevelopment is successful, it would realize an effort the agency made an initial run at 16 years ago.
DHHL was given the property in 1995 as part of a land-use settlement with the state. Initially, the agency was the landlord to the operator of the 24-lane bowling alley that was built in 1955 and got its name
because at that time it was next to what was Honolulu’s sports stadium before Aloha Stadium existed.
The Moiliili stadium was torn down in 1976 and replaced by a park. The adjacent bowling alley stayed in business until New Year’s Eve 1999 and had
a relatively short-lived
second run from mid-2000 to mid-2004.
DHHL tried soliciting development proposals in 2002 under a maximum 65-year lease for only commercial use, and received interest from Down to Earth Natural Foods, an automobile dealership, a public storage facility and a Native Hawaiian medical research facility. However, no deal was made.
The agency tried again in 2006, but that effort also fizzled.
For much of the time since then, DHHL leased the site to an automobile towing company, which moved out early last year.
In a 2014 long-range plan, DHHL envisioned using the Stadium Bowl-O-Drome site for up to
126 residences in a two-
to 10-story building along with revenue-generating commercial uses at street level.
