Council committee advances 1588 Ala Moana plan after hours of testimony

The Honolulu City Council Committee on Zoning and Planning on Sept. 24 voted to amend and report out Resolution 26-171 (CD1), the Interim Plan Development proposal for 1588 Ala Moana, a mixed-use redevelopment of a portion of the Ala Moana Center parking structure that would add housing, a hotel and commercial space. Chair Kia Aina moved the item to the end of the agenda to accommodate extended public testimony; after presentations and questions, the committee adopted technical amendments and reported the CD1 out for adoption.

Developer Alana Kobayashi Pekala of Kobayashi Group told the committee the project would provide 205 residences (including 69 affordable rental homes targeted at households earning 80% of area median income), 294 hotel units and about 20,000 square feet of commercial space. “Our goal is to redevelop the existing parking area into a vibrant, mixed-use, transit-oriented development that adds housing, introduces a world-class resort, improves pedestrian connections, supports long-term employment, and contributes to the city's vision for the Ala Moana neighborhood,” Kobayashi Pekala said during the presentation. Planner Isaiah Sato described a pedestrian corridor intended to connect Ala Moana Boulevard and the mall and said the team expects the affordable rentals to remain at 80% AMI for at least 30 years.

DPP staff recommended the CD1 with a package of community benefits to address the project’s height, density and view-shed impacts. Lina Pomsuan, a DPP planner, summarized the benefits the committee endorsed: a $5,000,000 contribution for complete-streets improvements in the Ala Moana TOD area (or work on the Atkinson/Ala Moana intersection if state coordination permits), $1,500,000 for urban forestry to plant and maintain street trees, the establishment of a new bus stop or a monetary alternative, and 38 additional community-benefit affordable rental units (part of the 69-unit total). Alex Beatty of DPP explained the department’s valuation approach, citing impacts to the Ala Moana Regional Park view-shed and the package’s role in making the requested flexibility commensurate with public benefit.

Public testimony was extensive and deeply divided: unions, local contractors and many construction-industry witnesses emphasized jobs and local economic activity, citing estimates the project would support roughly 6,000 construction jobs and about 800 permanent jobs; numerous residents, union advocates and community groups objected that the affordable units and AMI levels would not be affordable to many longtime residents and urged greater guarantees for low-income households and stronger community benefits. “Only about one-third of the proposed housing will be affordable,” testified Cassandra Sun, who opposed the project, saying the 80% AMI threshold placed units out of reach for many working families.

The committee asked detailed questions about traffic, construction staging and parking loss; traffic engineer Jenny Morrill said the project’s Traffic Impact Report finds that recommended mitigation measures and subsequent transportation and construction-management plans will help avoid significant operational impacts and that post‑construction studies will verify outcomes. After debate about jurisdictional complications at the Atkinson/Ala Moana intersection (a state-controlled location), the chair and DPP emphasized coordination with state DOT and DTS for eventual design and implementation. The committee approved technical amendments to the CD1 and, with no recorded objections, reported the CD1 to the council for adoption.

Provenance: topic introduced at SEG 1296 and discussion and report-out concluded at SEG 4371.