Save Kanaha Wetlands from six story building that will do nothing to improve medical care on Maui.
The 2002 Wailuku Kahului Community Plan states the following:
“Protect shoreline wetland resources and flood plain areas as valuable natural systems and open space resources. These natural systems are important for flood control, as habitat area for wildlife, and for various forms of recreation. Future development actions should emphasize flood prevention and protection of the natural landscape.”
“Drainage channels should not be used for building sites but rather for public open space” and further adds,
“Higher building forms up to six stories should be sited in the central portion of commercial blocks.”
The developers claim that building this facility will solve Maui’s shortage of doctors yet medical professionals know that Maui’s low rural rates of Medicare reimbursement and the high cost of malpractice insurance are more to blame. They also tell you that this massive building will not harm the federally protected species at Kanaha Pond but please remember this:
In a 2009 letter to Army Corps of Engineers, DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife states: “On the island of Maui, some of the largest concentrations of the endangered Hawaiian Coot and endangered Hawaiian Stilt occur adjacent to the proposed project at the KPWS. In addition, the endangered Hawaiian Duck is also known to forage and nest within the vicinity of the proposed Maui Medical Plaza at Kanaha project site.” The letter further states “The Division of Forestry and Wildlife strongly feels that the wetland status of this site should be valued and that no filling and construction be allowed. We encourage the Army to protect this wetland habitat from development, runoff, erosion, and fill.”
The developer’s Environmental Site Assessment says that “Areas on the subject property appear to have wetland characteristics and have been determined to have such areas (though limited in extent) in wetland studies previously conducted on-site.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and State Division of Forestry and Wildlife believe that the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai, the state wildlife preserve at Kanaha on Maui, and the several smaller national wildlife refuges on Oahu are essential for the preservation of Hawaii’s endemic waterbirds.
The County’s Planning Department had concerns that the project’s construction activities would result in “irreparable damages to the immediate site and potentially the entire Kanaha Pond Wildlife Sanctuary.” A condition requested by Maui Tomorrow Foundation but ignored was to place an avian biologist to monitor both the parcel itself and Kanaha Pond for indications of stress on nesting birds throughout the project’s construction phase and prohibit construction activity, such as pile-driving, during nesting season.
Unfortunately, all of this was ignored and the Army Corps issued a permit to fill this site. The Maui Planning Commission in 2011 grants its Special Management Area approval.
December 2011 – Majority owner Ben Brown is unable to continue his commitment to the development. Mr. Brown abrogates his partnership agreement and his contracts with the entitlement team consultants; he files for personal bankruptcy in the state of Montana to strategically protect his assets including the Maui Medical Plaza development. Mr. Brown states that he “plans to pay everybody what they are owed at a later date”.
November 2012 – Mr. McDaniel files for personal bankruptcy in Hawaii to protect his assets including his ownership position in the Maui Medical Plaza development
February 2013 – MDI (Maui Diagnostic Imaging) terminates negotiations with Maui Medical Plaza and begins construction of a new imaging facility at Triangle Square Shopping Center in Kahului, Maui. The loss of MDI is a huge setback for the Maui Medical Plaza as MDI holds one of the few Certificates of Need for imaging in Maui County. Maui Medical Plaza begins searching for a replacement imaging tenant.
May 2013 – Mr.Brown prepares for the impending bankruptcy liquidation of his Montana ranch and all personal real estate holdings to satisfy his creditors. The Maui Medical Plaza development remains in limbo. Health concerns prompt Mr. Brown to turn over the reins of the Maui Medical Plaza project to Bruce Travis of Pacific Rim International, LLC and Marina V. Owen of Green Realty Group in an attempt to preserve the entitlements and salvage the facility.
Irene Bowie, Executive Director of Maui Tomorrow Foundation in conjuction with a newly formed group named Friends of Kanaha, contacts Bob McDaniel with an offer to work with federal funding towards the purchase of the Maui Medical Plaza property and preserve it as a passive park and buffer to wetlands
June 2013 – Mr. Brown returns home to Montana for the court-ordered bankruptcy auction of his ranch and other personal real estate holdings to satisfy creditors after almost 2 years in bankruptcy. Preparations are underway for the re-introduction of the development to the Hawaii healthcare community.
The Veterans Administration terminates negotiations with Maui Medical Plaza and announces plans to buy land and build a $10 million, 15,000 sq.ft. stand-alone Clinic in Wailuku, Maui. The loss of the VA as a tenant is another huge setback for the Maui Medical Plaza.
July 2013 – The foreclosure auction for Mr. Brown’s Montana ranch property is scheduled for October 19, 2013. Bruce Travis and Pacific Rim International Realty begin soliciting the potential Maui Medical Plaza tenants from 2005 thru 2012 to determine if there is enough interest remaining in the Maui Medical Plaza office building to move forward. Potential Medical Plaza tenant Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii announces that they are relocating from Kahului to the new Maui Lani Center in Wailuku. Dr. Lyons opens a new office in Wailuku at Maui Lani’s professional row. On July 27-28 Mr. Brown holds a liquidation sale of all his personal property at the Montana ranch in preparation for the October real estate auction. The proceeds generated from this liquidation sale may go to satisfy creditors of the Maui Medical Plaza.
August 2013 – The Maui Medical Plaza begins its 9th year of development.
Comments(2)
Mike Foley says:
08/16/2013 at 10:40 pmNo building should be that close to that wetland.
Maui Tomorrow says:
08/16/2013 at 9:32 pmKanaha Medical Plaza
Save Kanaha Wetlands from six story building that will do nothing to improve medical care on Maui.
The 2002 Wailuku Kahului Community Plan states the following:
“Protect shoreline wetland resources and flood plain areas as valuable natural systems and open space resources. These natural systems are important for flood control, as habitat area for wildlife, and for various forms of recreation. Future development actions should emphasize flood prevention and protection of the natural landscape.”
“Drainage channels should not be used for building sites but rather for public open space” and further adds,
“Higher building forms up to six stories should be sited in the central portion of commercial blocks.”
The developers claim that building this facility will solve Maui’s shortage of doctors yet medical professionals know that Maui’s low rural rates of Medicare reimbursement and the high cost of malpractice insurance are more to blame. They also tell you that this massive building will not harm the federally protected species at Kanaha Pond but please remember this:
In a 2009 letter to Army Corps of Engineers, DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife states: “On the island of Maui, some of the largest concentrations of the endangered Hawaiian Coot and endangered Hawaiian Stilt occur adjacent to the proposed project at the KPWS. In addition, the endangered Hawaiian Duck is also known to forage and nest within the vicinity of the proposed Maui Medical Plaza at Kanaha project site.” The letter further states “The Division of Forestry and Wildlife strongly feels that the wetland status of this site should be valued and that no filling and construction be allowed. We encourage the Army to protect this wetland habitat from development, runoff, erosion, and fill.”
The developer’s Environmental Site Assessment says that “Areas on the subject property appear to have wetland characteristics and have been determined to have such areas (though limited in extent) in wetland studies previously conducted on-site.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and State Division of Forestry and Wildlife believe that the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai, the state wildlife preserve at Kanaha on Maui, and the several smaller national wildlife refuges on Oahu are essential for the preservation of Hawaii’s endemic waterbirds.
The County’s Planning Department had concerns that the project’s construction activities would result in “irreparable damages to the immediate site and potentially the entire Kanaha Pond Wildlife Sanctuary.” A condition requested by Maui Tomorrow Foundation but ignored was to place an avian biologist to monitor both the parcel itself and Kanaha Pond for indications of stress on nesting birds throughout the project’s construction phase and prohibit construction activity, such as pile-driving, during nesting season.
Unfortunately, all of this was ignored and the Army Corps issued a permit to fill this site. The Maui Planning Commission in 2011 grants its Special Management Area approval.
December 2011 – Majority owner Ben Brown is unable to continue his commitment to the development. Mr. Brown abrogates his partnership agreement and his contracts with the entitlement team consultants; he files for personal bankruptcy in the state of Montana to strategically protect his assets including the Maui Medical Plaza development. Mr. Brown states that he “plans to pay everybody what they are owed at a later date”.
November 2012 – Mr. McDaniel files for personal bankruptcy in Hawaii to protect his assets including his ownership position in the Maui Medical Plaza development
February 2013 – MDI (Maui Diagnostic Imaging) terminates negotiations with Maui Medical Plaza and begins construction of a new imaging facility at Triangle Square Shopping Center in Kahului, Maui. The loss of MDI is a huge setback for the Maui Medical Plaza as MDI holds one of the few Certificates of Need for imaging in Maui County. Maui Medical Plaza begins searching for a replacement imaging tenant.
May 2013 – Mr.Brown prepares for the impending bankruptcy liquidation of his Montana ranch and all personal real estate holdings to satisfy his creditors. The Maui Medical Plaza development remains in limbo. Health concerns prompt Mr. Brown to turn over the reins of the Maui Medical Plaza project to Bruce Travis of Pacific Rim International, LLC and Marina V. Owen of Green Realty Group in an attempt to preserve the entitlements and salvage the facility.
Irene Bowie, Executive Director of Maui Tomorrow Foundation in conjuction with a newly formed group named Friends of Kanaha, contacts Bob McDaniel with an offer to work with federal funding towards the purchase of the Maui Medical Plaza property and preserve it as a passive park and buffer to wetlands
June 2013 – Mr. Brown returns home to Montana for the court-ordered bankruptcy auction of his ranch and other personal real estate holdings to satisfy creditors after almost 2 years in bankruptcy. Preparations are underway for the re-introduction of the development to the Hawaii healthcare community.
The Veterans Administration terminates negotiations with Maui Medical Plaza and announces plans to buy land and build a $10 million, 15,000 sq.ft. stand-alone Clinic in Wailuku, Maui. The loss of the VA as a tenant is another huge setback for the Maui Medical Plaza.
July 2013 – The foreclosure auction for Mr. Brown’s Montana ranch property is scheduled for October 19, 2013. Bruce Travis and Pacific Rim International Realty begin soliciting the potential Maui Medical Plaza tenants from 2005 thru 2012 to determine if there is enough interest remaining in the Maui Medical Plaza office building to move forward. Potential Medical Plaza tenant Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii announces that they are relocating from Kahului to the new Maui Lani Center in Wailuku. Dr. Lyons opens a new office in Wailuku at Maui Lani’s professional row. On July 27-28 Mr. Brown holds a liquidation sale of all his personal property at the Montana ranch in preparation for the October real estate auction. The proceeds generated from this liquidation sale may go to satisfy creditors of the Maui Medical Plaza.
August 2013 – The Maui Medical Plaza begins its 9th year of development.