The Old International Market Place VS New (A Real Look & Sneak Peak) - Is this really progress?

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by hawaiian by heart

Anyway Kuhio used to be gorgeous. I remember the old Kuhio theater, it had a fountain inside and gorgeous modern decore.

Perhaps the locals shouldn't have let it get so ghetto - and places like the Hilton have to save it because locals have no appetite to do it themselves.

[pj737]

Originally Posted by hawaiian by heart

So the only way to get improvements is basically have gentrafication happen?

I think the overwhelming majority of improvements in the urban core are a result of gentrification. There is no incentive to renovate or rebuild if the surrounding neighborhood is unsafe and unattractive. It just takes one or two pioneers to kick start the beautiful process of gentrification in their immediate area.

Gentrification is a wonderful thing for the urban core... some see that it has a negative social impact but I believe the pros outweigh the cons. The overwhelming bulk of property owners in the urban core are very much local, some 3-4 generations deep. These are not wealthy out of towners you see at country clubs smoking cigars and sipping on wine. These mostly local family owned property owners are holding on to dilapidated (mostly small) multifamily projects and will reap the rewards of gentrification. Their children will use the equity in these often mortgage-free properties to rehabilitate them and further accelerate gentrification. Look at McCully/Moilili for example (which has a VERY high local ownership) - it's literally the most prime location on the island and look at the current state of it - it's depressing. It's the only place in town where you can be in the heart of town and not have to face constant traffic gridlock surrounding your home. These currently aesthetically unattractive areas will become much safer and more desirable; local owners will benefit financially from increased property values. Yes, the renters are generally those that will suffer but since the urban core has such a high local ownership rate (generations old) the negative impact on locals is not anything like what is realized in many other city centers across the nation where big (often overseas or out-of-state) corporations own large swaths of land. While Waikiki is a partial exception since a lot of particularly commercial buildings (leasehold) there are not locally owned, most other areas of the urban core will see a healthy revitalization and the locals will benefit dramatically.

Remember, the children and grandchildren of the owners of these urban core properties are often middle class working folks. They will be the direct beneficiary of gentrification and their new wealth will trickle directly into our economy - and local culture can proliferate, just with a little more money in their pockets.

[honobob]

Bar that served soldier who was killed by police faces possible penalties | More Local News - KITV Home Good riddance! And the Pizza Hut in the Ohana East is closed and becoming possibly a Tanaka of Toyko.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/nashville-waikiki-honolulu

[Mikala43]

I was wondering how gentrification became a bad word.

[McFrostyJ]

Originally Posted by hawaiian by heart

Well like i said b4, i no doubt would probably find a bunch of things i love or like, its my home and where my heart and spirit is. But i will probably be upset and grieve for the things that are bad and lost too.

I think almost anyone who had a good childhood would feel the same way when returning after 30 years. I know that when I go back to Sublimity, Oregon where I grew up, I am happy to see the improvements and yet sad to see things gone from when I lived there as a child.