Developer offers boat harbor plan
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
With the state preparing to publish its request for proposals to privatize the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, Hawai'i residential real estate developer Peter Savio thinks he has come up with a way to make everyone happy: Convert the harbor to leasehold condominiums and give long-term leases to the slip holders.
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This would give the state much-needed income to maintain and develop other harbors and allow the boat owners to have a say in managing the Ala Wai, Savio said.
Despite the state position that the Legislature must authorize leasing of submerged land, developer Peter Savio will pursue his proposal for the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor.
But state officials say the plan will not work without the Legislature's first agreeing to lease the submerged lands under the harbor, an idea lawmakers have rejected several times.
"Hawai'i law says we may not lease submerged lands without prior consent of the Legislature," said Dave Parsons, special projects officer for the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation. "For the past three years we've put in various bills asking the Legislature for this authority at the Ala Wai and the bills have all been killed. We can't honor (Savio's) request."
Two weeks ago Savio sent a letter to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which oversees Hawai'i harbors, detailing his plan. Savio, who made a name for himself purchasing leasehold apartment buildings and reselling units in fee to individual buyers, offered to pay $15 million to $20 million to lease the entire harbor, planning to sublease slips to boat owners for 50 to 60 years.
Savio said the slip holders would then form their own condominium association, elect a board and take over management of the yacht harbor themselves.
"For the people in the yacht harbor, it's a chance to control their own destiny," Savio said. "They can set up their own homeowners association and manage their own affairs. When they sell their boats they also can sell their slips. The uncertainty is what makes it more and more difficult for these people. They are at the mercy of whoever manages the marina."
Yesterday, despite Parsons' insistence that the Legislature must authorize the leasing of submerged land, Savio said he is not giving up on his idea yet.
"The state has put an obstacle in the way; let's see how we can overcome it," Savio said. "I don't have to lease those submerged lands. They are renting those spaces to the people now. The condominium becomes the dock, not the submerged lands."
On the Mainland, private marinas often sell leasehold interest in slips, Parsons said. But he said he has never heard of a public harbor going condominium.
A private company taking over the Ala Wai would assume management responsibility and be acting as an agent of the state. The manager would follow rules set by the state and charge slip fees set by harbor rules, he said.
Next in the state process comes an appraisal of the harbor and a report on its physical condition.
Then, later this year, bid documents seeking applicants for a long-term lease will be published in a request for proposals.
Turning the harbor over to a private operator has been a sore point between various state officials and the people who use the Ala Wai or live nearby.
Officials say that plans to lease the land to private developers would allow better upkeep of the boat harbor, which is falling into disrepair, and would maximize revenue for the state.
Opponents say the move could allow overdevelopment, make the slip fees for boaters prohibitively expensive and end longtime parking accommodations for surfers and paddlers.
Several companies have expressed interest in taking over management of the harbor, Parsons said.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
