The Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency that owns and manages the 30-acre Kakaako Waterfront Park, has announced that they will be spending up to $600,000 to create a master plan for improving the area. The HCDA noted that the state park, which was created in 1992, is being underutilized and has been somewhat neglected over the past few years, and work is needed to attract more public use. Executive Director of the HCDA, Anthony Ching, stated, "We need to bring life to the park. There's really not much energy or activity there."
However, some community members are concerned that the master plan will commercialize the park and oppose the idea of bringing businesses in to "liven up the park". There is further concern that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is now asking the state legislature for permission to build condominiums on the 25 acres of land that it owns in Kakaako Makai, which surrounds the Kakaako Waterfront Park. While nothing has been settled, several ideas being discussed include building a surf museum, a performing arts center and a farmers market along with some limited amount of retail and restaurant space. Another suggestion would be to build the Barack Obama presidential library and museum on the Kakaako Waterfront Park.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 2-2-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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