State may soon auction four properties on Kalaniana'ole
| • | Map: Four properties may go out for action |
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
After sitting unoccupied for nearly a decade, four properties the state Department of Transportation purchased to make room for a wider Kalaniana'ole Highway may finally go out for auction.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
It's been a long, slow process that has raised the concern of residents who believe the state should not be in the business of holding on to real estate it purchased through condemnation. Residents also worry that what's left of the properties will be sold to businesses or other ventures.
The state is weighing its options on how best to sell four properties it condemned on Kalaniana'ole Highway, in Kuli'ou'ou and Niu Valley. One area resident says the state should sell the land to neighbors.
The properties, zoned only for residential, have not cost much in the way of maintenance over the years, but did cost taxpayers more than $2 million when the state condemned the land in the mid-1990s, said Scott Ishikawa, state Department of Transportation spokesman.
The four properties that may soon be auctioned, all on Kalaniana'ole Highway, are near Bay Street in Kuli'ou'ou and farther down toward Niu Valley. One of the parcels is as small as 3,000 square feet, and all are oddly shaped or have access issues, Ishikawa said.
The state purchased 12 properties to make way for additional lanes when it widened the highway from four lanes to six through Niu Valley to 'Aina Haina in 1990. The state has sold some properties but it was unclear how many were sold after it completed the $86 million Kalaniana'ole widening project in 1995.
The state has been waiting until the water main replacement work was completed along the western portion of Kalaniana'ole Highway before looking into selling off the properties, Ishikawa said. It also wanted to wait until the values rose to recoup some of the costs it incurred in condemning the land.
A year ago, the state made inquiries to the neighboring residents, some of whom have responded. But Michael Melcher, a resident who is next to a state-owned piece of property, said he never heard from the state again.
"We put in an offer, but we never heard back from the state," Melcher said. "I guess it wasn't high enough. I think the state should let us bid it up and award us the properties and get it off their inventory list."
With the real estate market soaring, the state is weighing its options on how best to sell the properties: consolidate some of the parcels or offer them to the neighbors first and then put them out to auction. Before any sales can occur the state must finish an appraisal, Ishikawa said.
"I understand that everyone is frustrated by this whole process," Ishikawa said. The soonest the state would be ready to put the properties out for bid would be within four months. "If we sell the parcels separately it will take four to six months and if we combine a couple of them, it could take one-and-a-half years. Right now, we don't have a decision."
Real estate in East Honolulu generally sells quickly, real estate experts say. In the case of properties along Kalaniana'ole Highway, however, there are some factors that affect price, said Traci Hirakawa, a certified appraiser. The ingress and egress, the noise, traffic and soot from cars all affect the price, Hirakawa said.
"There is a market because people are still buying on Kalaniana'ole Highway," she said. "There's a discount for these things."
The state wanted to consolidate some of the properties because it might be easier to sell, especially for the parcels near Bay Street, Ishikawa said. The city, however, rejected the request saying it would create a nonconforming property size and the state had promised it would not do that when it condemned the land to widen the highway.
Since the highway was widened, the state has used a few of the properties for on-site offices and storage. Currently, a landscape company working on the median is using one of the homes as a base yard. The others are vacant or have houses that have large signs posted that say "Keep Out, State Property."
"It would be good given back to the neighbors or sold to the neighbors," Melcher said. "The state Department of Transportation shouldn't be in the business of owning property."
Reach Suzanne Roig at 394-8831 or sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.
