The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands entered a negotiating period last week over a parcel of land in Kakaʻako Makai on Oʻahu.
The state transferred about 30 acres of land to OHA over a decade ago to settle a long-standing dispute over ceded land revenues.
OHA has been trying to develop housing units in the Honolulu waterfront area, but proposals to lift zoning restrictions have failed in the Legislature.
Now, OHA is making an effort to work with DHHL to develop housing units faster.
“The quicker we can get the negotiations completed, the quicker we can move forward on designing,” DHHL Director Kali Watson told HPR.
OHA and DHHL are negotiating over “Lot I,” which is currently used for open-air storage, parking for construction equipment and automotive sales.
The land has about 3 acres, which makes up less than 2% of the 169 acres in Kaka'ako Makai.
Watson said that he would like the mixed-use development to be within the current height limit of 200 feet.
After OHA and DHHL reach an agreement, Watson said the department will put out a request for proposal to developers. If all goes well, Watson said the construction could take about three years.
“I hope to get it moving along pretty quickly, because we do have certain deadlines,” he said. “But more importantly, we have an urgency, in a sense that the people on our waitlist, unfortunately, over half of the people on our waitlist, which totals over 11,000 just for the island of O’ahu, a lot of them are passing away.”
