Posted on: Monday, October 7, 2002

EDITORIAL
Don't abandon plan for gateway park

It's no huge surprise that business owners around the Hawai'i Convention Center aren't in a hurry to unload their prime real estate.

Why should they when they've got location, location, location?

Unfortunately, their refusal to sell their land to the city dashes hopes for a Waikiki gateway park near the Convention Center.

Now, it's our opinion that it sure would be nice to see the Convention Center surrounded by green open space rather than the X-rated establishments that tend to dominate business in that area.

But that's unlikely to happen unless the state pitches in to make this beautification project a reality.

It would also help if the city passed an ordinance to eliminate strip clubs and other adult entertainment within a half-mile of the Convention Center. But that will be in the hands of the newly elected City Council.

We've always held that the $350 million Hawai'i Convention Center was shoehorned into its site and needed way more breathing room.

Using condemnation to spruce up and open up the area should have been raised before the ground for the Convention Center was broken in 1994. It certainly met the "public purpose" test and continues to do so today.

A friendly condemnation now, however, is looking more costly.

When Mayor Jeremy Harris announced his Waikiki gateway plan last year, the City Council agreed to set aside $6 million to purchase the land and design the plaza, but only on condition that the property owners would agree to sell.

Now that some of the property owners have declined to sell and the plan has been abandoned, the $6 million is expected to lapse at the end of the year.

Presumably, the city can't or won't up its offer. And we appreciate the argument that in times of tight budgets and competing needs, there is only so much the city can spend on a "nice to have" but not critical improvement.

But that doesn't mean the state can't chip in. After all, it is a "state" Convention Center that benefits all of Hawai'i, not just Honolulu.