Posted on: Wednesday, May 15, 2002

EDITORIAL
Old post office deal sounds promising

We'd rather the U.S. Post Office, Customs and Court House in downtown Honolulu retain its historic charm as a complex for government and nonprofit offices instead of morphing into a shopping mall or some other glitzy commercial venture.

And so we're pleased that another private developer is interested in buying and renovating the complex.

Under the latest plan, part of the building would become the new home of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which is moving out of the state's Kamamalu Building to allow for asbestos removal and other upgrades.

Other state agencies that now lease private-sector office space may also move into the old post office building. It's likely that other agencies now in leased space would move into the refurbished Kamamalu Building .

Aside from saving money, it makes perfect sense for state offices to be concentrated in the civic center rather than spread throughout the city.

If the deal goes through (and we say "if" because previous ones have failed), a private developer will purchase the building from the federal government, renovate it and then sell 90,000 square feet to the state.

Of course, the entire endeavor is subject to negotiation, so we won't hold our breath. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs made noise about purchasing the building in 2000, but interest on the board has since waxed and waned with frequent OHA leadership changes and disagreements about the costs.

Before that, USPO Redevelopment Corp. proposed to turn the building into a $54 million boutique complex named the Galleria Shopping Center. That proposal also fizzled.

This latest proposal appears promising, and so we hope it doesn't fall apart like the building's interior, which needs at least $11 million worth of renovation work. It would be good to see Honolulu's old post office building spring back to life after years of disuse.