Change of zoning recommended for one of oldest buildings in Hāna town

Maui County Council Housing and Land Use Committee members unanimously recommended approval Wednesday of a bill to rezone the former Old Laundry Building in Hāna town. Bill 69 would re-establish commercial use for the 21,711-square-foot property, possibly as an art or culturally appropriate music studio.

Mani Hāna Resort LLC is seeking a change of zoning from urban reserve district to country-town business district for the Hāna Store Storage Building, located on Keawa Place, across the street from the Hāna-Maui Resort. Bill 69 advances to the full Council for first reading.

Hasegawa Store and the Hana Town Center are already zoned country-town business district.

Built between 1882 and 1890, the stone-and-mortar former hotel laundry building had fallen into disrepair in recent years and was left to deteriorate in rainy Hāna. It is listed on the Hawaiʻi State Register of Historic Places.

The proposed zoning is conditional, and it would only include options such as retail, general office, a museum, or art and music studios. Other uses such as a gas station, vacation rentals and multifamily housing are not being proposed as permitted uses for the conditional zoning. A restaurant would require additional community review.

The property was zoned urban reserve in 1997. The current zoning is restrictive, not allowing much more than a single-family home, utilities and agriculture. The proposed rezoning is in alignment with the Hāna Community Plan and would restore the building for commercial use, as it was for more than 100 years, according to a report submitted by the Department of Planning.

Rehabilitation of the building for commercial use is expected to generate short-term construction jobs, followed by permanent jobs, the number of which will depend on the type of business that ultimately occupies the building. Building permits are pending. No new buildings are planned.