Keaukaha community members expressed concerns Wednesday night over the state’s plans to acquire almost 10 acres of privately owned land near the entrance to Hilo Harbor.
The major concern expressed at the public meeting at Keaukaha Elementary School about the draft environmental assessment released June 23 on the proposed land acquisition was the potential for lost livelihoods for businesses and employees already on the land in question along Kalanianaole Street near the harbor entrance.
About 50, including state Sen. Lorraine Inouye and County Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy, attended the meeting conducted by officials and consultants with state Department of Transportation Harbors Division.
Greg Gadd, president and principal broker of Big Island Homes and Land Co., was the first audience member to speak after those in attendance politely listened to the slide presentation by Jared Chang, planning manager of Bowers + Kubota, the consultant who prepared the EA for the Harbors Division.
“There are 26 businesses that are going to be displaced,” said Gadd, who noted his firm either owns or controls four of the five parcels the state wants to acquire. “There’s maybe 100 workers there. Where are these people going to go? Some people can’t even go anywhere. You’re disrupting the whole community, and you’re not even touching upon it.”
Gadd’s company, 595K LLC, owns two parcels, each 1.03 acres and on the downtown Hilo side of the harbor entrance. The third parcel on that side, which Gadd doesn’t control, is 1.02 acres owned by Airgas Gaspro.
Sparks and Boschetti LLC owns the two parcels on the Keaukaha side of the harbor entrance, including the largest parcel, 5.55 acres, and a smaller parcel of 0.74 acres. The larger parcel abuts both Kalanianaole Street and the harbor entrance across from Silva Street.
The only listed member of Sparks and Boschetti on the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs website is Giampaolo “Paul” Boschetti, a San Francisco-based real estate investor with numerous holdings in Hawaii, including the Tribune-Herald building. Sparks and Boschetti’s agent is listed as Big Island Homes and Land Co.
According to the presentation, an appraisal pegged the value of the combined properties at $15 million to $17 million, and Gov. Josh Green recently released $15 million to acquire the land.
“That appraisal that you did is grossly undervalued,” Gadd said. “Those values are not even close to the value. We’re going to lose substantial income by this project.
“There’s a church in there. There’s a certified kitchen. There’s a restaurant. You didn’t even include these businesses.”
Those businesses include: Maikai Auto Body &Paint, Hilo Auto Sales &Rentals, Hilo Food Hub, Ocean Front Kitchen, Service Rentals and Supplies Inc., and Zion’s House of Praise Holiness Church.
Lance Wilhelm, a private construction management consultant hired by the state for this project, told Gadd those concerns are to be dealt with later in the process.
“The next stage is talking to the landowners about what this transaction would look like. That’s generally when discussions about the tenants would occur,” Wilhelm said. “The document is primarily about environmental impacts.
“The transactions for the land will include discussions about the tenants, their leases, etc.”
Chang said a preliminary cost estimate for land acquisition, planning and construction is “about $62 million.” He said if all goes as planned, the project would be completed in 2028 or 2029.
The project, Chang said, would create “stacking lanes” that would hold 16 semi-trailer trucks in a waiting pattern on harbor property off Kalanianaole prior to offloading their cargo for shipping.
“There’s a real need to get some of those large semi trucks that queue up on the street off of the street and onto the harbor property as soon as possible to lessen the traffic congestion,” he said. “In addition, acquiring those five properties will also allow Harbors to expand their (operations) and will improve on safety.”
Neal Aki said local residents need “concise information, you know, not … all this jumbo that’s over our heads.”
“You guys are from Honolulu, but we live here. We’ve got skin in the game,” Aki said. “So, maybe the people that live here should be part of this study. Where has the input come from here, or is it just from the people in the office? I mean, we’ve got skin in the game. We drive down this road, OK?
“While I agree there is massive traffic problems, and some parts of this is supposed to alleviate that. But we have some problems with the design of this.”
Dre Kalili, the DOH deputy director in charge of Harbors Division, said the current EA document “is conceptual” and not the final project design.
“Right now, we’re at the environmental assessment process,” Kalili said. “A statement on the impact on the environment if we acquire the property that was shown in the presentation. That’s the first step.”
The current 30-day comment period on the draft EA ends July 24.
Written comments can be sent by mail to Bowers + Kubota at 94-408 Akoki St., Ste. 201-A, Waipahu, HI 96797, or by email to rsato@bowersandkubota.com. The draft EA can be found online at bit.ly/3PKaUdG.
A final EA, which includes the public comments, is expected by the end of this year.
Once that’s done, DOT Harbors Division will go to the Board of Land and Natural Resources to seek approval for the land acquisition.
“They are the final authority on any acquisition that the state makes. So, we need their approval … following an environmental review process,” Chang said.
Once BLNR approves land acquisition, negotiations for the purchase will take place. If the state and landowners don’t agree on a price, the state can take the property through condemnation, also known as eminent domain, and is required by law to pay the landowners “just compensation” for their property.
Tribune-Herald photojournalist Kelsey Walling contributed to this story.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.