The head of the state Land Use Commission, Anthony Ching, will leave his post Jan. 2 to become executive director of the state agency governing redevelopment in Kaka'ako.

Ching's hiring to lead the Hawai'i Community Development Authority was made by the agency's board of directors yesterday and follows the August departure of former executive director Daniel Dinell.

Dinell, a longtime Hilton Hotels executive who led the HCDA for nearly four years, resigned to take a job as Hilton Grand Vacations managing director for sales and marketing planning.

Ching, 54, has been the Land Use Commission's executive officer since May 2001, and has had a career of more than 20 years in state government that includes positions as deputy director of the Health Department and a planner with the Office of State Planning and Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Ted Liu, who as director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism serves on the HCDA board and led the agency's selection committee for a new chief, said in a statement that Ching won a unanimous vote from HCDA directors.

"His managerial and administrative capabilities and his in-depth knowledge of land use will serve the agency well as it moves forward on a number of important projects," Liu said.

The HCDA was created by the Legislature in 1976 as a semi-autonomous state agency to help reverse urban decay in Kaka'ako between Ala Moana and Pi'ikoi, Punchbowl and King streets through special development rules.

Commissioners of the Land Use Commission, which administer the state's Land Use Law, have not yet begun the recruitment process to replace Ching.