Howard Hughes, Japanese developers to present plans for Honolulu’s Kewalo Basin Harbor next week

The Howard Hughes Corp. and Kewalo Waterfront Partners Inc., a partnership between two Japanese firms, are expected to unveil two separate commercial development plans next week for the land surrounding Honolulu’s Kewalo Basin Harbor, an executive with the Hawaii Community Development Authority confirmed to PBN. The state agency overseeing development in the Kakaako area, as…


The Hawaii Community Development Authority is scheduled to hear plans from The Howard
The Hawaii Community Development Authority is scheduled to hear plans from The Howard

The Howard Hughes Corp. and Kewalo Waterfront Partners Inc., a partnership between two Japanese firms, are expected to unveil two separate commercial development plans next week for the land surrounding Honolulu’s Kewalo Basin Harbor, an executive with the Hawaii Community Development Authority confirmed to PBN.

The state agency overseeing development in the Kakaako area, as part of its July 9 meeting, is scheduled to hear from the two developers regarding their proposals for the small boat harbor, which are likely to include waterfront retail, restaurants and a live entertainment venue.

The three parcels aimed for development include the former McWayne Marine Supply site, the charter boat building site and the former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lot.

The HCDA plans to make a decision on which proposal to choose on Aug. 5, Aedward Los Banos, the agency’s chief operating officer, told PBN.

However, he noted that the Aug. 5 decision-making hearing may be pushed back to the agency’s September meeting.

Kewalo Waterfront Partners, which includes Good Luck International Corp. and Hinamari Hawaii Inc., has plans to renovate four buildings totaling 45,000 square feet at the former McWayne Marine Supply site.

Plans for the site include retail stores and small restaurants, as well as a live entertainment venue, a bar, a cafe, office space, a multipurpose hall and a 250-stall parking garage, according to the project’s draft environmental assessment.

The Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC), which has development rights for a total of 22 high-rise condominiums across the street and took control of the Kewalo Basin Harbor in September, plans to submit a proposal for all three parcels.

The Texas-based developer, through its senior director of development, Race Randle, has said that its plans for the harbor could include a restaurant that serves fresh fish caught from the commercial boats based at the harbor.

Other ideas presented at community meetings earlier this year included developing an oceanfront community center on the makai, or ocean, end of the harbor, which sits directly across from the developer’s 60-acre Ward Village master-planned community.

In the meantime, Japan-based Bellavita Inc. has scrapped its plans to develop a 6,000-square-foot Italian restaurant called Napule in the Kewalo Basin Harbor area, Los Banos told PBN.

He pointed out that the HCDA board may end up choosing Howard Hughes’ or Kewalo Waterfront Partners’ plan, or just the Texas-based developer’s proposal for all three sites.

The board also may end up choosing none of the proposals.

Duane Shimogawa
Pacific Business News