Community News
DHHL Application Wait Lists Updated To June 30, 2012
After some delay due to technical difficulties, DHHL Application Wait Lists updated to June 30, 2012, were posted to our site today. Check the lists on our Wait List page at:
For information on applying for a Hawaiian Homestead award, please see:
Read MoreHawai’i Community College Dedicates 46th DHHL Home
Another brand new home has been designed and constructed by Hawaiʻi Community College students in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.
This is the 46th home built by the college since the school launched its Model Home Program in 1965. The best part of the program, according to students and organizers: the annual ceremony where the house keys are officially turned over to the new homeowner.
“Oh it felt great,” said Fred Palea, the lucky Hawaiian Home Lands lessee right after he walked into his new home for the first time. “I am really ecstatic and excited about this house and it feels warm, welcoming, and I think our family is really going to enjoy this house.”
The three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,800-square-foot home includes a carport, solar water heating, a photovoltaic system, landscaping with native plants and an aquaponics garden.
Read the entire article and watch the video on the UH News Site:
Read MoreHHC May 2013 Meetings on Moloka’i
Notice of Annual
Hawaiian Homes Commission
Regular Meetings On Moloka’i
On Monday, May 20, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.
and Tuesday, May 21, at 11:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. (Time changed as of 5/14)
at Kūlana ‘Ōiwi Multi-Purpose Conference Room
(600 Maunaloa Highway, Kalamaula)
Hawaiian Homes Commission Meeting agendas are available approximately
one week in advance on the HHC Meetings page on our website, dhhl.hawaii.gov
Annual Hawaiian Homes Commision
Moloka‘i Homestead Community Meeting
On Monday, May 20, 2013 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
at Lanikeha Community Center (Farrington Ave., Ho‘olehua)
COMMUNITY MEETING AGENDA
- 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. DHHL Update
- 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Homestead Community Update
- 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Open House*
- 8:30 p.m. Adjournment
* During Open House, representatives from DHHL divisions will be available for one-on-one consultation and to answer any questions.
For further information or special accommodations for a sign language interpreter or accessible parking (must be made five days prior to the meeting date), please contact : Information and Community Relations Office on O‘ahu at 808-620-9590.
Read MoreDepartment Responds To Star-Advertiser Articles
Department Responds To Star-Advertiser Articles
The following is the un-edited opinion piece which was submitted
to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in response to their recent
series of articles critical of our Department
May 8, 2013
The Star-Advertiser’s three day series highlights a critical challenge facing this Administration: how to effectively manage DHHL’s land resources with severely limited resources until the lands can be homesteaded.
While we appreciated the opportunity to respond to questions posed by the Star-Advertiser, it appears that the complexity of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act caused some of the important information that we shared to be left out that, perhaps, would have helped to better clarify and frame the challenges facing our department and our beneficiaries. In the interest of providing that clarity, please allow us the opportunity to again share these facts:
A revocable permit (RP) allows use of certain DHHL lands on a month-to-month basis and can be cancelled at any time upon a 30 day notice. An RP is not a long-term revenue generating commercial lease. It is not a long-term license, nor is it a 99-year homestead lease. The RP program was intended to be principally a land management tool.
This is because some of the DHHL acreage that is not currently in homesteading or in general commercial leases are large undeveloped and remote properties. These lands are subject to illegal dumping, trespassing, illegal uses, or overgrowth that can lead to fire hazards if there is no presence on the land. Fencing, signage, cutting vegetation, monitoring, etc. is very expensive to maintain over thousands of acres.
In light of severely limited staffing and financial resources, the RP program was one option the department developed years ago to provide presence on these lands, to maintain the lands, and deter dumping and other challenges, at no cost to DHHL. The RP program does provide for some revenues from DHHL lands that are “as is” (for example, raw, undeveloped land with minimal infrastructure) instead of simply being a major land management cost item in DHHL’s budget. However, as much of the liability and responsibility shifts to the permit holder, the RP program also reduces DHHL’s risk and the risk to DHHL’s limited financial trust assets.
By contrast, 99-year Homestead lease awards require a reliable source of adequate funding. Without the capital improvement funding, homesteads are just not developed. Without the use of sufficient general funds for operations, DHHL must fund its operations from the revenue it generates.
Both of these enormous challenges, maintaining DHHL’s inventory of lands across six islands until the lands are awarded for homesteads, and generating revenue on these lands using commercial ground leases that must go through a strict and complex multi-step approval process are handled by the same small Division made up of five land agents and a Division Administrator. Are they overwhelmed? Yes. Are they understaffed? Absolutely. But this is all we can afford.
The last time DHHL received general funding for its administrative costs was in 2010, when it received $1 million, a small fraction of the overall costs of operations. On the development side, the Act 14 land settlement reached in 1995 has provided for a stream of payments to DHHL of $30 million over the past 18 years. But, we have used these funds to develop thousands of residential homestead over that time. These payments come to an end in 2015 leaving DHHL’s future funding uncertain.
The ultimate solution for DHHL and its beneficiaries would be for the State to allocate sufficient financial resources to provide every eligible native Hawaiian beneficiary with a lot equipped with adequate infrastructure including water, along with the maintenance and upkeep of the infrastructure in our existing communities. This cost, which easily runs into the billions of dollars, could be funded at one time if the State faced no other critical needs. However, since the state faces a myriad of other concerns and issues, resources for DHHL over its long history has come from the State in fits and starts.
However, even with all these challenges before us, all is not doom and gloom. This year, for the first time, Governor Abercrombie’s budget included a request for $14.7 million in general funding for DHHL’s administrative expenses in response to the Nelson lawsuit, and the Legislature engaged in a discussion regarding what is “sufficient” to fund the operations and administration of DHHL. The outcome? We received $9.6 million in general funding for operations for DHHL, more than has ever been provided in DHHL’s history. It’s a good beginning, but a dialogue that is far from over.
Going forward, it is the intention of this Administration to assess the current state of our program, identify areas of weaknesses, and implement the proper reforms. But change often requires more than just DHHL. We are extremely grateful for the unwavering support of Governor Abercrombie and the assistance of key cabinet officials who have pledged their support in helping us achieve the improvements we desire.
Can the RP program be improved? Yes, by establishing clear policies and procedures; adequate and timely enforcement; and prudent decision-making regarding the way DHHL lands are used as they await development for homesteads. These are the goals the DHHL’s new Administration will strive for.
Jobie M.K. Masagatani
Chair, Hawaiian Homes Commission and
Director, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
DeBartolo Announces Expanded Ka Makana Ali‘i Phase One
New renderings of Ka Makana Ali’i released today.
DEBARTOLO DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES LARGER 700,000-SQUARE-FOOT DEPARTMENT STORE-ANCHORED PHASE ONE FOR KA MAKANA ALI‘I
First phase of 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use regional shopping center will feature
75 shops and restaurants, a cinema, department store, hotel and supermarket
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- May 3, 2013
- Download a PDF version of this release
TAMPA, FL (May 3, 2013) – DeBartolo Development, LLC announced today Ka Makana Ali‘i will be constructed in two phases, beginning with a larger 700,000-square-foot department store-anchored phase one featuring 75 shops and restaurants, a cinema, department store, hotel and supermarket on approximately 50 of the site’s 63 acres. Phase two of the 1.4-million-square-foot mixed-use regional shopping center will include over 200,000 square feet of LEED-certified office space.
Located between Kapolei Parkway, Roosevelt Avenue and Kualakai Parkway (formerly known as North-South Road), Ka Makana Ali‘i will be the first regional shopping center built in Oahu in over 30 years. The $350 million project is expected to provide an economic boost for the region and become a gathering place for the West Oahu community. Upon completion, Ka Makana Ali‘i will be the third largest regional mall in Hawaii.
New renderings of Ka Makana Ali’i released today.
“We are excited to be pushing ahead towards breaking ground on Ka Makana Ali‘i and bringing a great new shopping experience to the communities of West Oahu,” said Edward Kobel, President and Chief Operating Officer of DeBartolo Development. “We have been working hard with some of the most creative minds across the country to deliver a world class shopping, dining and entertainment complex the region has been asking for. Together with the leadership of Governor Abercrombie, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the community associations that surround our project and have supported us from the beginning, we look forward to making Ka Makana Ali‘i West Oahu’s community hub.”
Ka Makana Ali‘i is surrounded by numerous master-planned communities, a half-mile south of the new University of Hawai‘i West Oahu campus, with its 7,600 students and 550 faculty and staff, and the new Kroc Center. Nearby are Ko Olina Resort, the five-star J. W. Marriott, Ko Olina Beach Club and Disney’s Aulani Resort.
DeBartolo is leasing land from the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), and under the agreed-upon terms, will pay more than $140 million in rent over 65 years. According to DHHL officials, revenues from the master lease will finance the construction of thousands of homes for Hawaiian homesteaders adjacent to the center, along with other programs for Native Hawaiians.
“The partnership between the Department and DeBartolo Development has been great and we look forward to the promise and possibilities that Ka Makana Ali‘i brings to the community and our beneficiaries,” said Darrell Young, Deputy Director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
In February, DeBartolo completed the Land Use Commission process designating Ka Makana Ali‘i a mixed-use development and is currently proceeding with obtaining entitlement permits needed to break ground.
For more information about Ka Makana Ali‘i, please visit www.kamakanaalii.com.
About DeBartolo Development, LLC
Built on a legacy of more than six decades, the DeBartolo name is recognized as an icon in the real estate industry. Since our beginnings in 1944 when legendary entrepreneur Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. pioneered the first shopping mall concept and developed some of the most well-known and nationally-recognized shopping landmarks, our legacy has been synonymous with success. Continuing the family tradition with the same entrepreneurial spirit, Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr., former owner of the five-time Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, and his brother, Edward Kobel, have evolved DeBartolo Development into one of the largest private real estate investment and development companies in the country. Today, DeBartolo Development invests in real estate assets of all sizes and scopes, specializing in opportunistic acquisitions and market-driven, ground-up development of multifamily, hospitality, retail and mixed-use projects throughout the United States. DeBartolo Development combines experience, sound research and market foresight with institutional partnerships and strong lender and broker relationships to meet the unique challenges of today’s real estate environment. For more information about DeBartolo Development, please visit our Website at www.debartolodevelopment.com.
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CONTACT:
Lynette Lo Tom
808.275.3004
lynette@brightlightmarketing.com
Valerie Panou
813.263.7284
vpanou@debartolodevelopment.com