Posted on: Thursday, September 19, 2002

County buys land to block Lahaina shopping center plan

By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor

LAHAINA, Maui — Maui County yesterday closed a $4 million deal to buy Front Street property and block a planned shopping center that faced strong community opposition because of its proximity to a significant Native Hawaiian cultural site.

The county issued a bond to buy the property from JDI Ltd., which had proposed to build the 19,000-square-foot Harbor Village shopping center. The project had gotten approvals from the county Cultural Resources Commission and the Maui Planning Commission, and the developer had agreed to reduce the leasable floor space and address other community concerns.

The Harbor Village project was opposed by officials at nearby Kamehameha III Elementary School and the Friends of Moku'ula, among others.

The nonprofit Friends group is overseeing an effort at neighboring Malu-'ulu-o-Lele Park to resurrect Moku'ula island, now buried under playing fields. Moku'ula is considered a sacred place, described as the one-time center of the Hawaiian kingdom, the former home of Kamehameha III and the site of a royal mausoleum.

The county council passed a resolution in June authorizing Mayor James "Kimo" Apana to purchase the Front Street property.

County finance director Wesley Lo said the county also plans to buy an adjacent 15,000-square-foot parcel from the Catholic Church that is being used as a dirt parking lot and to acquire JDI's lease for a 38,500-square-foot property owned by the Richardson family of O'ahu.

Both parcels will be used for much-needed parking in Lahaina town, and additional stalls will be developed at the Front Street property, which contains two old residences that are used as businesses.

Lo said a request for proposals will be issued to nonprofit groups interested in operating the parking lot.