Residents fight Hilton expansion
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Don Birdsall is a 77-year-old retired military man who bought a Waikiki condo with views of the ocean and Diamond Head. The purchase was the embodiment of his retirement dream.
But there are other visions in Waikiki, and those of increased hotel capacity and capitalizing on the area's growing time-share market have turned Birdsall's dream into a nightmare.
Shortly after he and his wife, Norma, moved into the two-bedroom apartment on the 18th floor of the Pomaikai on Ala Moana, Hilton Hotels Corp. began construction on its Kalia tower. The Kalia is the sixth tower on the Hilton Hawaiian Village property, largest of the Waikiki resorts, and its 453 hotel rooms will open to guests in mid-May.
After two years of listening to construction equipment, air horns and frustrated motorists trying to make their way past the construction, the Birdsalls lost their view of Diamond Head and gained a view of another multilevel high-rise.
But the Kalia tower wasn't the end of it. Now Hilton is making plans to build a new, 350-foot tower on a narrow strip of land that was the former site of the Waikikian Hotel and Tahitian Lanai restaurant. The new Waikikian Tower will house 400 time-share units.
It also will shut off what remains of the Birdsalls' view — a patch of ocean — leaving the couple walled in by high-rises.
"Last night we could see three ships out there in the sunset," Birdsall said. "Now they're going to put in more concrete? It breaks my heart."
Daniel Dinell, vice president of strategic planning and community affairs at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said groundbreaking for the new tower will not begin before the third quarter of 2002 at the earliest. The Hilton is still in the process of applying for various permits, and detailed design development work has not yet begun.
He said he and members of his company have met with the community at Waikiki Neighborhood Board meetings, and that he plans to meet with the residents of the Pomaikai on Monday.
"We are committed to discussing our proposal with our neighbors in order to ensure that this project is a win-win for the entire community," Dinell said.
Dinell said the development plans call for improvements that will benefit Waikiki residents, including developments along Dewey Lane that will create a pleasant pedestrian walkway from Ala Moana to the beach.
"The existing Dewey Lane is unsafe and unsightly," he said.
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Plans are being made to keep the "footprint" of the building small, and to create as much open green space and pedestrian walkway areas as possible, he said.
Dan Birdsall, with a drawing of the proposed Hilton development, said the new Hilton tower will obscure what's left of the ocean view from his 18th floor condo.
The possibility of a new traffic light at Dewey Lane and Ala Moana is being considered.
Dinell said he welcomes written comments addressing the impact of the construction on the community.
Birdsall said he and others in his building plan to fight the new tower. He does not see its construction as an improvement to the new neighborhood.
"I think the use of the word 'greed' is very appropriate in this situation," he said. "Search for wealth at the expense of us old folks."
Baki Thomas, who lives in a penthouse in the nearby Wailana building, also uses the word "greed" when voicing her opposition to the construction. Thomas said it isn't just losing the view; she thinks the new construction will block trade winds, overload sewer systems and add another large block of concrete to an area already overloaded with concrete.
Both Thomas and Birdsall say they are prepared to fight. Neither is sure about winning.
"I don't have a lot of hope," Birdsall said.
Said Thomas: "This is war. Nobody wins in a war. They won't either. They're going to lose the tourists they hope to attract. They're having to fight for space on the beach as it is."
The Hilton Hawaiian Village is required to seek public input as it prepares its environmental impact statement, one of the steps to obtaining a permit to build. Written comments on potential impact can be addressed to Daniel Dinell at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, 2005 Kalia Road, Honolulu, 96815, or to the Hilton's agent, Belt Collins Hawai'i, in care of Lee Sichter, 680 Ala Moana, Suite 100, Honolulu, 96813. Copies can be mailed to the Department of Planning and Permitting, 650 S. King St., Honolulu, 96813. Comments will be accepted through May 7.
Sam Bren, chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, said he thinks those who oppose development are likely to lose. Bren said that although construction opponents are numerous, he isn't entirely sympathetic to their cause.
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Public input
"We've had a couple of meetings addressing this,'' he said. "There were probably 50 or 60 people at the last one, and we're getting letters.
"They say, 'We don't want anything that will disturb our viewplane, create more traffic or disturb the sedentary lifestyles we've fallen into,'" he said. "My answer is, 'if you would like your property taxes tripled or quadrupled, then ask the city to spend millions of dollars to buy the property from Hilton Hawaiian Village.'
"People don't seem to understand that nothing is so permanent as change and change is growth," he said.
