An historic downtown building with a storied past may have a new chapter ahead in the arts, and it could have State departments on the move.
The Departments of Budget and Finance, and of Business Economic Development and Tourism could be on the move out of the No. 1 Capitol District building, the governor announced at a State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Meeting.
"DBEDT and others who are currently in the building, who love being in the building by the way, they're not going to be happy to hear me say it, but we want to have the entire building to meet its original purpose," says the governor.
The purpose of the building, he says, is for the arts.
"It was the legislative intention at the time, which I certainly intend to carry out, to have the entire building devoted to the purposes of the foundation."
The site has had many a notable purpose over Honolulu's history. It was the site of the original Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which moved to Waikiki in the 1920s. That building was torn down and this structure erected.
"It was the Armed Forces Y for many years. People learned to swim here, legislators used to come over and work out in the gym and make a few deals in the locker room," says Peter Rosegg of the Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
Later, developer Chris Hemmeter bought it for his corporate offices, restored it and later sold it to a Japanese firm for $80 million. The state bought it in 2000 for about $20 million.
The art museum occupies the second floor, the ground floor hosts a restaurant and gift shop, and the State departments take up the other floors. It's a major capitol improvement measure the governor's office plans to put before the legislature could put those departments elsewhere, like the Kamamalu building.
"It's a block or two from here, that would be a natural place for some of the agencies that are here now, so the first step clearly is getting the Kamamalu building back in use. It's sitting there boarded up now," says Rosegg.
That process and the department relocation is likely to take years.
Meanwhile the arts purpose will grow where it can. A major outdoor renovation includes a sculpture garden surrounding a redesigned center that pays homage to the old pool in a now multipurpose space.
"It's really a wonderful area. Downtown is a wonderful area already, and it's going to get better."
