Kamehameha seeks Kaka'ako pact revision
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Kamehameha Schools yesterday asked the state to cancel a 10-year-old agreement that dictates rules for developing 53 acres the private trust owns in Kaka'ako so it can more easily redevelop the property.
The proposed change would reduce fees that Kamehameha Schools would have to pay the state for public facilities like parks and roads, potentially by millions of dollars, but also increase a requirement to provide affordable housing.
The trust said it is at a disadvantage when trying to develop its property because other landowners in the area are not working under the same rules for development that Kamehameha committed to 10 years ago.
"We just want a level playing field," said Kamehameha Schools project manager Bob Oda. "Just let us play by the current rules. That's all we're asking."
The biggest potential loss to the state if it vacates the 1994 agreement would be reducing the contribution for parks and other public facilities.
Under its agreement, Kamehameha Schools has to contribute land equal to 7 percent of a project's total floor area for parks, or the cash equivalent. Under current rules, the requirement is 3 percent for commercial buildings and 4 percent for residential buildings.
The state relaxed the requirement under its general rules in 1997 to make development more feasible.
Directors of the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, the state agency governing redevelopment in Kaka'ako, indicated they would have to consider whether the public would benefit by releasing Kamehameha Schools from its agreement.
"If Kamehameha Schools wants to vacate its master plan, we need to get something that is helpful to the authority," said Dan Dinell, agency executive director.
Other agency board members questioned whether the state would be happy with a project developed under requirements the state no longer desires, such as industrial use equal to 20 percent of a project.
Kamehameha Schools also is required to develop property mauka of Ala Moana before it develops land makai of the boulevard under its agreement.
Kamehameha Schools noted that it hasn't redeveloped anything under its agreement since 1994 except CompUSA. Oda said voiding the 1994 agreement would allow the trust to solicit development ideas by the end of the year and hopefully sign deals with developers during the first half of next year.
At least one other private developer, Nauru Phosphate Royalties (Honolulu) Development Inc., has modified a development agreement with the state. Four years ago, the company, which has since transferred its development rights to another firm, replaced a planned industrial/office tower with a residential tower.
The state board asked agency staff members to make a recommendation that will be taken up at a future board meeting. Any change to Kamehameha Schools' development agreement would be subject to a separate public hearing.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
