Costs studied for parking garage in Kailua

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KAILUA — Kane'ohe Ranch Co. Ltd. is testing the soil behind the new Longs Drug Store to determine the feasibility of building a multilevel parking garage there.

The test piles should be done by the end of the week, said Mitch D'Olier, president and chief executive officer of Kane'ohe Ranch and Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. He said he wasn't sure when the results would be in.

Kane'ohe Ranch, which manages the property for landowner Castle Foundation, has proposed to build a three- to four-story parking structure behind the new Longs building now under construction. Longs asked that if the company did build the structure that it be completed before Longs opens in February.

"We're trying to figure out how much a parking structure would cost," D'Olier said. "What that's going to tell us is if we did build a parking structure what kind of piling we would need to put in the ground."

The decision to approve the parking structure has not been made by the Castle Foundation and D'Olier said he needed to satisfy a series of conditions before the project is approved. Cost feasibility is one condition and tenant satisfaction with design is another, he said.

The project generated both support and opposition from residents at a community meeting earlier this year. Some said more parking is needed while others raised concerns about the need and the aesthetic impact of a three- to four-story building in this beachside community.

Longtime Kailua resident Don Bremner, who has a background in planning, said the structure would mar the uncluttered character of downtown Kailua.

"I tend to think that we have had no particular problem in the parking lot there," Bremner said. "I understand that the project is now down to a potential two stories. That really doesn't seem quite worth it."

Libby Tomar said the structure would create traffic problems rather than ease them. "It will make (Kailua) less walkable, and bring more cars, as it will be easier for people to drive into the area and park in front of the building," she said, adding that the additional parking could lead to increased development in the area.

But store owner Debbie Costello said parking has been critically short for some time and she supports the parking structure.

"There is no parking for my customers and it's irritating to them," said Costello, owner of Island Treasures Art Gallery and Kailua Beach Walk. One customer complained about having to drive around for 15 minutes to find parking before giving up, Costello said.

People in Kailua want more restaurants and stores so they don't have to go to town, but to accommodate that growth, more parking must be provided, she said.

Employees are not allowed to park in lots near her businesses so many of them go to Longs or behind First Hawaiian Bank and that fills those lots, Costello said.

"With the way this town is growing and with the way everybody is moving here we have to have more parking," she said. "And during the holiday time, it's insane."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.