Hana marketplace project still stalled

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

The leaders of a church in Hana are trying to hammer out a proposal for a partnership with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that could resuscitate the town's troubled marketplace project on church-owned property, where unfinished buildings have languished, deteriorating, for almost seven years.

The trustees for Wanana-lua Congregational Church, owner of the Hana Village Marketplace property, had hoped to first secure roughly $140,000 in back rent from OHA before striking any new deals, said their lawyer, Dennis Buckley.

But they have run into resistance from OHA officials who want the church to postpone back-rent claims until the marketplace opens for business.

The rural Maui town has endured more than a decade of upheaval over the development. Dawn Lono, who chairs the church board of trustees, said in a written statement that the church leased the property as a means of raising operating funds.

The idea of the the marketplace, Lono said, came from Bill Chang, who heads the nonprofit that ultimately signed the lease, Hina-malailena.

The idea was to create a place for the local community to sell homegrown products, she added; a lauhala craft shop and a gift boutique now doing business elsewhere were among the merchants hoping to move into the center.

Chang said that although Hina-malailena still runs a summer educational program and remains the official lessee for the marketplace, it turned over the active planning for the project to OHA.

OHA and Hina-malailena are the co-recipients of a $1.76 million grant issued in 1994 by the federal Economic Development Agency (EDA). This money was spent on a project completed in 1997: building the outer shell of 30 commercial spaces, most of them kiosk-like structures opening into courtyards.

A cascade of problems has stalled the project since then, including disputes over the condition of the kiosk shells, and over whether the restaurant lined up as anchor tenant could serve liquor, an option opposed by church leaders for more than a year. Church leaders elected since then have withdrawn their opposition.

EDA officials told OHA — which signed as guarantor of the grant — that the money would have to be returned if the project isn't finished, said OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o.

The latest round of discussions followed a letter sent about 18 months ago by OHA trustee Oswald Stender, who proposed that a limited partnership be formed by OHA and the church for the completion of the project.

Stender said OHA will need to spend about $1.5 million to make the project ready for business, including the installation of interior walls and the completion of electrical hookups.

"We've all got to sacrifice to do this," he said. "We want to keep what's owing (on the rent) in abeyance, and then after money starts coming in, after paying the debt service and operating expenses, they can have what's left."

Buckley said the church received its last rent payment in March 2001 and has not seen that its patience to date has produced any significant progress toward project completion. But he underscored that the church trustees' top priority is to work out an arrangement to satisfy both sides.

Stender said OHA wants the church and OHA to form a limited liability partnership owned by both parties. OHA trustees also hope that the lease period will be extended beyond its 2029 expiration; that a management group will be hired to run the project; and that the back-rent payment will be delayed.

He acknowledged that there is is no track record set for enterprises like this in Hana but he believes in the prospect of a modest success. The initial inquiries came from a credit union, restaurant, crafts people and an art shop, Stender said.

"We're not there to make a profit," he added. "If it broke even, everybody would be happy."

Lono emphasized that maintaining Hawaiian culture remains one of the goals of the church.

"We can assure you that our motives are neither greed nor an attempt to milk the 'deep pockets' of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs," she said in the prepared statement. "This would not in any way support our Christian values or our love for the culture."

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.