Posted on: Thursday, March 28, 2002

EDITORIAL
City should influence use of 'superblock'

Now add Kmart to the long list of suitors that have romanced the "Ke'eaumoku superblock" in a serious way, but ultimately left it standing at the altar.

The Wichman Family Trust has tried to match its property, vacant since 1990, with developers of a massive residential high-rise/office/retail complex, a shopping center, double-decker Wal-Mart/Sam's Club stores, a Home Depot and then Kmart.

The attraction for these developers and retailers is that the superblock, 11 acres near Ala Moana Center, is one of the best large pieces of vacant urban property on O'ahu. In the latest deal, the site was attractive enough for Kmart to pony up significant earnest money, which it had to walk away from.

The downside is the cost, upward of $80 a square foot. The would-be purchasers — especially Kmart, which after all is in bankruptcy — haven't been able to make the deal pencil out.

The Wichman trust is said to be patient; another suitor will come along, most likely another big-box retailer.

All this time, Honolulu residents have looked on with great interest, but no one appears particularly interested in what they think about the future of this strategically located property.

Market forces, to be sure, are at work here. Kmart wasn't about to put a facility in a place that wouldn't attract customers.

But many residents have observed that having a big-box store or a department store in that location would hardly be optimal for the lifestyle of living or working nearby. Ke'eaumoku Street is already a traffic nightmare.

Isn't there some way to develop the superblock in a way that maximizes the benefit to residents and makes the area a better place overall?

Perhaps the simplest way would be for the city to buy the block and make a park out of it. It would be a great place for green, quiet space, bordering Ala Moana Center with open space.

But that's a pipedream; the property is too expensive.

Between the choices of the trust selling the land first- come, first-served to the highest bidder and the city buying it outright, however, is some middle ground waiting to be explored.

We'd suggest that, together, the Wichman trust and the city advertise worldwide for out-of-the-box ideas from developers who would be encouraged to emphasize urban enhancement over pure profitability, with the thought that the city would make up the difference for the family.

It's our city. Can't we do a better job of planning to make it a better city?