Posted on: Wednesday, October 1, 2003

EDITORIAL
Turn empty site into oasis of urban chic

Right now, the area encompassing Honolulu Harbor's piers 5 and 6 just diamondhead of Aloha Tower is an urban wasteland brimming with potential.

Which is presumably why Dallas developer Ken Hughes of UC Urban is excited at the prospect of turning the waterfront site into a residential/commercial complex of loft homes, office space, a ferry terminal, boat slips and a 250-room hotel with ground-level restaurant and retail space.

The project, dubbed Pacific Quay, would also include parking and a 2-mile streetcar system linking downtown.

But before UC Urban enters into an agreement with the Aloha Tower Development Corp., the state agency that oversees redevelopment of the area, the developer wants to be certain this ambitious project won't suffocate in bureaucracy. Wouldn't you?

For example, the project may require converting Hawaiian Electric Co.'s downtown power plant into a park. Once questions are resolved, UC Urban and the state could proceed with a development agreement that would need board approval.

This is a hurdle worth clearing. So we see no problem with the state contributing $100,000 for a joint study of whether obstacles to the Pacific Quay can be overcome. Sure, it's a risk, but a modest one when you consider the potential gains.

UC Urban built Mockingbird Station in Dallas, a successful development. If UC Urban can create a similarly popular oasis that draws more folks to the Aloha Tower area, let's not get in its way.