Chinatown Cultural Plaza redevelopment moves forward following meeting with stakeholders

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Downtown Honolulu is getting some much-needed updates.

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Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi told Hawaii News Now on Tuesday that redevelopment plans for the dilapidated Chinatown Cultural Plaza are moving forward.

City officials met with the state’s top developers to discuss the project’s priorities.

“We’re moving forward, and they’re very open to redevelopment of the Cultural Plaza timeline to be discussed and announced very shortly,” Blangiardi said.

The Taiwanese government owns the four acre property, and last week, Blangiardi met with a Taiwan delegation, the third such meeting since February.

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Blangiardi called the meeting a turning point.

“The leadership that they sent here did an outstanding job,” Blangiardi said. “We had great meetings with eight of the state’s top developers. The bids will probably go out to even more than those eight, but the exchange, the discussion, was all very exciting.”

Blangiardi did not give specific details about a potential demolition date or when tenants might be notified.

He told HNN that while eminent domain is always on the table, he does not expect for it to be required.

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