As young entrepreneurs, farmers and surfers, we can no longer watch as conditions at Kewalo Basin Harbor deteriorate.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) must act now to revitalize Kewalo for the benefit of future generations.
When our parents were our age, the harbor bustled with activity. Families dined at the Sampan Inn, folks picked up the latest fishing gear at McWayne’s Marine Supply, and workers frequented the many lunch wagons parked there.
Over our lifetime, however, this state-owned site has fallen into disrepair as businesses have shuttered and maintenance has been deferred. Today, parking is woefully inadequate, there aren’t enough bathrooms, and the area has fallen victim to neglect. Sadly, only dedicated surfers, fishermen and the homeless now frequent the area. This blight on the waterfront of our fair city is shameful given its rich history as a gathering place for our community.
A proposal is now before the HCDA that will restore vitality to the harbor and welcome local families, ocean goers and new businesses to the area. Its developer, Kewalo Waterfront Partners, is giving Hawaii’s next generation a chance to grow our businesses, sell our produce, and surf in an area with upgraded facilities. It would feature a permanent farmers market, eateries by homegrown restaurateurs and locally owned retail shops. In addition, the developer would add parking, public bathrooms and over $1 million in off-site infrastructure to ensure that, as the population grows, the park would be able to accommodate more users for decades to come.
The project would be built on a paved parking lot at the mauka end of the harbor. Doing so would keep the remaining lands around the harbor as open space for public use and recreation.
It also would generate over $2 million in yearly lease rent for the state. Those funds could then be used to tackle the chronic homelessness in the area along with maintenance and security at regional public parks. Furthermore, it would keep Kewalo Basin Park undeveloped to ensure it continues as a public recreation site well into the future. This is a sustainable approach that would ensure the harbor area could continue to serve all Hawaii’s people for generations to come.
A competing proposal by the Howard Hughes Corp. offers a very different vision. It would create a convenience store along Ala Moana Boulevard and a restaurant at the point at Kewalo Basin Park where all of the ocean recreation activities occur.
This is the wrong approach. The Hughes proposal wouldn’t add parking stalls or public restrooms and offers no infrastructure upgrades for the area. This would put additional strain on the already inadequate public facilities here. Its proposal also would provide very little revenue to the state. This basically means the state would be giving this important land away to a mainland developer for a pittance.
Furthermore, the state lease for this project would extend for 30 years. No parking, no bathrooms, no resources for the state to maintain or improve the area. This plan offers almost nothing to provide for the future welfare of this site. That means yet another generation would be robbed of the opportunity to enjoy Kewalo.
HCDA must exercise foresight and approve the proposal of Kewalo Waterfront Harbor or this site will suffer through 30 more years of neglect.
