A fire that broke out at the former Stadium Bowl-O-Drome Saturday on Oʻahu was intentionally set, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.
It is the property’s second arson in less than a month.
HFD said in a news release that the cause of the fire was related to a cigarette lighter. Damage is estimated at $625,000 to the property and $350,000 to its contents.
Firefighters arrived on scene around 11:55 a.m. and found smoke fuming out of the building. A total of 6 fire units with 22 personnel fully extinguished the flames by 1:26 p.m.
Search crews did not find anyone in the building after it was extinguished and the case has been referred to the Honolulu Police Department for criminal investigation.
The vacant bowling alley, located at 820 Isenberg St., has been closed since 2004. Over the past several years, the state's Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has attempted to move forward on its plan to turn the area into affordable housing. If completed, the building would serve as DHHL's first rental project.
The highly-anticipated 23-story apartment building would include 278 affordable units exclusively for beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands program.
In February 2022, DHHL and Standford Carr Development conducted an environmental assessment of the project. More than a year later, Honolulu City Council inspected the proposal for an early fall groundbreaking. However, the two arson cases — the latest causing more damage than the first — could delay construction even further.
