News: Lawmakers push to give the heart of Hilo a facelift

Posted on Jan 15, 2025 in Main

KHON

Lawmakers push to give the heart of Hilo a facelift

by Jenn Boneza /
HILO, Hawaii (KHON2) — The Waiakea Peninsula in Hilo is considered the heart of the community but in recent years it has lost its luster.

“As in any aging beauty, it needs a face lift,” Banyan Drive Hawaii Redevelopment Agency Chair James McCully said. “And it’s more than that at this point. It’s structurally, economically obsolescent and it doesn’t meet the community’s needs or especially the community’s interests.”

The recent demolition of the iconic Uncle Billy’s and continued decline of Banyan Drive are pushing lawmakers to action with legislation to transfer land managed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, or HCDA.

“The reason this bill can work is because there’s no way that Department of Land and Natural Resources land division could ever grapple with the complexities, the costs, the responsibilities of this action of this scale,” McCully said. “This is why [HCDA] was set up. To come in and solve these intractable problems for community development.”

In a statement Big Island Rep. Chris Todd said:

“Over the next few months, the Legislature will vet a number of proposals for Waiakea Peninsula. The bottom line is that we need a long-term strategic plan for the area that accounts for economic development, cultural resources, and sea level rise. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the historic mismanagement of the area.”