EDITORIAL
Kaka'ako's 'crown' remains incomplete

There's no question that the soon-to-open University of Hawai'i Medical School in Kaka'ako will be a jewel in this rapidly developing and improving area between downtown Honolulu and the harbor.

But there is a question whether the entire "crown," if you will, will have the luster everyone dreams of.

A number of planning, political and development issues need to be resolved before this area, driven by the medical school and related businesses, reaches its full potential.

As reported by Education Writer Beverly Creamer, the medical school is scheduled to have a grand opening in January, featuring Nobel Prize winners, entrepreneurs, investors and academic stars from UH and elsewhere.

There are, however, some questions that must be resolved.

One is the fate of the widely respected Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i, which might be built on a five-acre site adjacent to the medical school.

The cancer center is ideally suited to be a neighbor to the medical school. The work they do is complementary.

Some local hospitals are concerned that the center might soak up clinical work that otherwise would go to them. Experience elsewhere has shown that a high-end research center can work well with established medical facilities, and we expect that the same will likely happen here.

And there are questions regarding the administration of the new medical school. The idea that makes the most sense comes from a task force of university regents that would group all health science units throughout the university under one umbrella.

The medical school could go it alone, as a separate campus, supported by research grants. But that would be a step back from a true systemwide approach that is now taking root in the university.

The final piece of the puzzle is the physical look of Kaka'ako. The medical school is a handsome addition, and there are exciting plans for more shops, apartments, commercial amenities and other features.

But the area continues to lack a signature statement — a dramatic piece that draws the city to the harborfront and the ocean to the land.

If that last piece can be built (and there are several developers who say they think they can pull it off, including developer D.G. "Andy" Anderson and Kajima Urban Development, which yesterday repeated that it was interested in developing the entire area), then Kaka'ako can finally live up to its potential.