Investors plan $10 million restoration to Chinatown building
HONOLULU — A group of investors is planning a $10 million restoration to an iconic building in Honolulu’s historic Chinatown district that is expected to include a new restaurant and boutique hotel.
Details of the project were published last week in an environmental assessment by the state, outlining plans to restore and reuse the three-story Wo Fat building.
Mighty Wo Fat, a partnership led by a Texas real estate investor and involving former University of Hawaii head football coach June Jones, is undertaking the project. The group bought the building for $4 million last year.
The project aims to help bring back nightlife to Chinatown. Plans for the 80-year-old building include a restaurant, bar, coffee bar and up to 24 hotel rooms, according to the report.
“The opening of the restaurant on the ground floor of the Wo Fat Building will add to Chinatown’s vibrant and growing restaurant district and help to attract people to downtown after dark,” the group said in the report.
The investors intend to maintain the exterior cultural appearance, remove some modern additions and restore some previously altered elements. If a hotel isn’t viable, the rooms could become dormitory housing.
A concept for the restaurant has not yet been chosen, said John Davenport, the lead investor and principal from Austin, Texas.
For decades, the building housed the Wo Fat restaurant, which was one of the longest-standing restaurants in Hawaii. It closed in 1994.
The developer will honor the history of the building, which is valuable to Honolulu’s Chinese community, said Dean Sakamoto, an architect working on the project.
“Wo Fat has a lot of meaning to them,” he said.
The state Historic Preservation Division has reviewed and signed off on the design plans. Depending on the progression of the plans, work could begin in April and be completed by January 2020.
Honolulu equips first group of officers with body cameras
HONOLULU — The Honolulu Police Department has issued its first set of body-worn cameras to 35 officers.
Officers who work day shifts in downtown Honolulu were outfitted with the body cameras Monday.
The department plans to roll out dozens more every month to eventually give all 1,200 officers body cameras. It expects hundreds of officers to have cameras by the end of the year.
The first set was issued to officers working near police headquarters so if they experience problems, the information technology unit can help, the department said.
“We’re just still trying to get used to it, downloading the programs and that, but other than that, it’s a work in progress,” Officer Joelyn DeCaires said. “We’ll figure it out.”
Officers are required to keep the cameras turned on during their shift.
“Policy requires them to use it during any interaction with the public, either self-initiated or when they are sent to a case,” police Capt. Radde Vanic said.
Recording the interactions could benefit both the officer and the public, DeCaires said. She said she has been the target of past complaints, and the body camera footage could have been easily proven her side.
The department is paying $3.5 million for all the cameras, and it expects the program to cost $1.5 million each year to maintain the equipment and store the videos.
The Honolulu department is the third in Hawaii to use body cameras. Kauai police started in 2014, and Maui police started in 2017.
