The process to demolish the former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel will be sped up by an emergency proclamation issued Tuesday by Gov. Josh Green.
The proclamation mandates the state demolish and remove the 146-room hotel’s structures and hazardous materials, then restore the site via hazard abatement, if funding allows.
The proclamation will sunset on Sept. 15, but a specific completion date for the demolition was not included.
“We’re just pleased the emergency proclamation is happening, because it will speed up the process,” Hilo Sen. Lorraine Inouye said Wednesday. “It was unacceptable when I found out that the original response was that the demolition would begin in 2024.”
A state budget bill passed in 2022 allocated $13.5 million for the project through a Department of Land and Natural Resources special fund. The DLNR manages the state land on which the building sits.
Any additional funding needed to cover the cost of demolition will be provided by the DLNR’s annual budget and would be reimbursed later on.
“If they fall short in the process of the demolition, they will continue and use some monies in the budget presently at the DLNR,” Inouye said. “My concern was to do it now, because the session is upon us in January (2024), and I’ll need to be prepared to work with DLNR and look at the cost that we’ll be asking to replace.”
Prior to demolition, the proclamation requires a fence be built around the perimeter to secure the property.
“There are homeless people there,” Inouye said. “We need to clear them out, then the fencing will go up, and then the demolition will start.”
The emergency proclamation waives certain requirements to expedite the process. This includes environmental impact statements, historic preservation requirements, and other conditions related to urban renewal projects and conservation districts when necessary.
“This issue has been going on a lot longer than expected because of the fire,” Inouye said, referencing a blaze that broke out on the property in March. “It’ll just improve safety and the expediency of getting the work done.”
Safety concerns cited in the proclamation include structural decay of the property along with the presence of unabated hazardous materials, fire damage, water intrusion, falling ceilings, exposed rebar, overflowing sewage, mold and mildew.
The proclamation also noted the Hawaii Police Department has responded to 6,479 calls in the area from September 2018 to April 2023, resulting in an estimated cost between $319,000 and $459,000, and the Hawaii Fire Department responded to 946 calls for service or incidents in the area from May 2018 to May 2023, with a total cost estimate of $122,000.
Lawmakers view the governor’s decision as a positive initial step, but Hilo Rep. Chris Todd said it’s not an end-all solution for the Banyan Drive area.
“In a lot of ways, Uncle Billy’s is not the problem, but it’s a symptom of the problem,” Todd said, citing a lack of active management, foresight and action on Banyan Drive. “Until we deal with all that, it’s just going to be one problem after another, whether it’s a crime issue there or homeless situations. This Uncle Billy’s thing will take care of part of that, but not the entire issue.”
Todd said one solution is to create a master plan for the entire peninsula.
At the latest Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting last week, the board authorized Chair Dawn Chang to carry out an agreement between the DLNR and the Hawaii Community Development Authority for a strategic assessment of Banyan Drive.
“HCDA has so much on their plate,” Inouye said. “The concern I have is, how soon can they have their work done to present to the Legislature and the administration?”
Since the hotel ceased operating in 2017, there have been several efforts by DLNR to repurpose the site, including in 2021 when an attempt to solicit redevelopment proposals was later aborted.
Ideas and concepts for the Banyan Drive area have ranged from an expansion of Lili‘uokalani Park to more commercial space for local businesses and even a facility designed for the Merrie Monarch Festival and the history of hula.
“There’s a lot of stuff out there, a lot of great ideas, but ultimately, you need the master plan in place, to get it agreed upon by all stakeholders, and then you need the Legislature to come in and deliver funding to enact it,” Todd said. “I’m hopeful with new leadership, with the new governor, with a new DLNR director, that we’ll start seeing more serious progress.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.