Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 4, 1 April 2015 — Building community at Kakaʻako Makai [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Building community at Kakaʻako Makai

Aloha from Kaua'i and Ni'ihau! I would like to thank everyone that eame out to share their mana'o at the series of meetings we held throughout ka pae 'āina regarding planning for the Kaka'ako Makai parcels. These meetings were coordinated by the Kuhikuhi Pu'uone consortium along with the OHA's Community

Engagement staff to engage our beneficiaries and hear ideas and comments with regard to planning for the parcels OHA now owns in Kaka'ako. I was pleased to see that many people attended the meetings and there was mueh thoughtful feedback shared. I was very excited to hear some of the great ideas that were shared by beneficiaries. A eommon theme that I heard from the meetings I observed was that Kaka'ako Makai needs to be a gathering plaee for Hawaiians; a plaee that will look and feel uniquely Hawaiian and that ean enrich all who visit, both Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians. I also heard the desire to protect waterfront areas and open-space and the need for affordable and

kupuna housing. I heard ideas for a world-class observation deck as well as the construction of a permanent home for Hōkūle'a and even an idea for a high-speed passenger only sea-flight craft. There were dozens of ideas shared, however, the eommon theme was essentially "keep it Hawaiian." I agree with those sentiments, and I look forward to help-

ing move this effort along in a way that emphasizes the unique opportunity we have to create a uniquely Hawaiian plaee in urban Honolulu. As highlighted by one of the questions posed by facilitators at the meetings, it is going to be a great challenge to identify the apex of culture and commerce and then plan in such a way that maximizes both. Although challenging, this also brings great opportunity and I am confident that with the support of OHA, its collaborators and our beneficiaries we will be able to provide a model for the future of Hawai'i that addresses numerous needs while also "keeping it Hawaiian" and building a plaee for our community to be proud of. ■

Dan Ahuna VicE Chair, TrustEE, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau

This map of Kaka'ako Makai shows the properties 0HA now owns.