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Catch up on what’s happening in Kaka’ako. View our latest monthly newsletter here.
Historic Ala Moana Pumping Station
KIA General Membership Meeting
Craig Nakamoto, the Community Outreach and Compliance Officer for the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) reported that the HCDA Executive Director, Deepak Neupane, who has been with HCDA for 25 years, has announced his retirement at the end of February. Deepak’s wife will be working for the University of Texas in Austin. HCDA wishes him well in the next chapter of his life. Craig introduced Mark Hakoda, a Program Specialist with the HCDA, who talked about the Kakaako Mauka Area Rules Amendments, providing a PowerPoint of their first community meeting December 2, 2021.
Mark reported the following: The Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) has begun the process of studying potential amendments to the Mauka Area Rules (MAR) (§15-217, HAR), which govern development in the Mauka area of the Kakaako Community Development District. We are looking for ways to better implement community benefits, reinforce reserved housing, and implement effective changes to make the Mauka Area of Kakaako a stronger and healthier community. As part of this process, HCDA is reaching out to the community to get feedback. On December 2, 2021, HCDA held its first of several virtual community meetings to discuss the MAR amendment process. HCDA has also put together an online Community Outreach Survey. The survey is open to the general public, the results of which will be shared to the public. results of the survey will be shared publicly. We encourage everyone to participate in the online survey and upcoming virtual community meetings. You can find updates and meeting times on the HCDA website, www.dbedt.hawaii.gov/hcda. We look forward to meeting with you and getting your feedback, virtually. Link to Community Outreach Survey #1: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSRFGJl4x-JH9VUwkMqQOvEi9qfoR19vHrO0oG1UFETFmFPw/viewform. Click here for PDF from Mark’s HCDA presentation.
The second speaker was Paul Brewbaker of TZ Economics. He summarized his presentation this way: “Inflation in Hawaii is lower than nationwide (5.4% vs. 7.0%) because the local economy was harder hit by tourism loss and has to come back farther than on the mainland. Federal fiscal stimuli may have been too hot, combined with monetary policy accommodation, so that aggregate demand exceeds the disrupted aggregate supply side of the economy. Inflation is the rising barometric pressure: Petroleum, semiconductors and therefore new vehicles and therefore used vehicles (!). What the? More inflation in goods than in services. Prices have risen for building materials and single-family homes where demand from people who can work remotely abruptly increased. But, now, relative multifamily home prices are especially attractive in places like Kakaako to a younger demographic seeking urban core lifestyle amenities. A rotation is underway: The first wave towards suburbs, exurbs and Zoomtowns. Now the backwash is returning from Da Country to The City. At least 20-30 percent of Hawaii households now have at least one adult working remotely or no adult working in a conventional workplace. Hybrid work will be a New Normal shifting the spatial pattern of housing demand, benefiting suburban locales for which mass transit is available, or will be, but also urban locales tailored to the new workforce. Collaboration spaces instead of office cubicles? Brew pubs instead of mid-day plate lunch venues? Pimped out your home office yet?” Click here for PDF from Paul’s presentation.
KIA Board Profile
Having a banker on the KIA Board is always an asset. Jared Kashiwabara is Vice President and Team Leader in the Private Banking Group for Bank of Hawaii. He has nine years of banking experience including roles in commercial banking, branch banking, and private banking. Jared is responsible for managing a team of bankers who assist high net worth clients with banking and customized financial solutions. He is a graduate of ‘Iolani School and Sacramento State University and during his free time, enjoys spending time with his family.
KIA Invitational Golf Tournament
Sign up for the 2022 KIA Invitational Golf Tournament to be held Friday, May 20th at the Pearl Country Club. Proceeds will help KCAA Muriel Preschool’s playground improvements. Sponsors to date are Kamehameha Schools (Gold), First Hawaiian Bank, First Onsite Restoration, Gateside, Inc., J. Kadowaki, and WCIT Architecture (Silver) and Sherry A. Goya, LLC (Tee), as well as Tent Sponsor, MD Restoration. Click here for flyer.
KIA 2022 Renewal
Mahalo to these KIA members who renewed their 2022 KIA membership as of the production of this newsletter:
AOAO Hawaiki Tower, Inc.
Chuck's Corvette Clinic
First Hawaiian Bank
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Pacific Rim Properties Ltd
Scott Hawaii
Senator Sharon Moriwaki
Smart Money Inc.
Stanford Carr Development, LLC
WCIT Architecture, Inc.
