State officials gave Texas developer Ken Hughes the green light yesterday to proceed with plans to build 300 condominiums on public waterfront property diamondhead of Aloha Tower.

If negotiations on financial terms and other details proceed smoothly, Hughes could begin construction in about six months on Pacific Quay — a 130-foot-high complex with condo units, retail and restaurant space, 850 parking stalls and a public pedestrian promenade around the water's edge at piers 5 and 6.

The Aloha Tower Development Corp., the state agency which oversees the property, approved the project following a public meeting yesterday that drew mostly positive comments from a handful of residents.

The agency pledged to solicit more public input to help refine details of the plan, which has evolved over the past three years.

"I say the plans look great, and let's get on with it," said Carol Hopkins, a member of Scenic Hawai'i, a nonprofit environmental group.

Local architect Andrew Yanoviak also praised the plan for its mid-rise design and example of urban in-fill planning. "I encourage you to go forward," he said.

But Michele Matsuo, the owner of a seventh-floor residential condo in the makai tower of Harbor Square, said she felt approval of the project was inappropriate without notifying immediate neighbors.

"We will not have any harbor view anymore," she said. "My view will be obliterated."

Matsuo said Hughes attended Harbor Square's board meeting Tuesday night and made an informal briefing that led her to express her objection yesterday to the state agency. She also said tenants in other nearby buildings have not been directly apprised of the project.

Hughes said over the past three years he has met with 22 community groups and has received a consensus of support.

IN TWO PHASES

The project in August 2004 drew a 7-0 vote from the Downtown Neighborhood Board supporting the concept, which at the time comprised 350 loft apartments at piers 5 and 6 plus a downtown electric trolley system, a park replacing Hawaiian Electric Co.'s downtown power plant, removing parking spaces from Irwin Park and 10 stories of parking and condos at piers 10 and 11.

Since then, some elements of Pacific Quay have changed, though Hughes still plans a second phase of development that includes eliminating the parking from Irwin Park, moving the power plant and building a new cruise terminal with a 250-room hotel, state offices and parking at piers 10 and 11.

A bypass tunnel under Nimitz Highway is another potential piece of the estimated $300 million master plan.

Only the plan for piers 5 and 6 was approved yesterday. The private project would be built on land leased from the state. The state agency expects to consider elements in the second phase at some future time.

On piers 5 and 6, Hughes envisions six stories of condos above two levels of parking and about 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Of the condos, perhaps 60 to 80 may be dedicated as a boutique hotel, with the balance proposed as a mix of residences and an upscale version of time-shares where vacation owners typically have use of a unit for four weeks to three months.

MARKETPLACE PARKING

Nearly 500 of the 850 parking stalls would help cure a shortage plaguing Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Aloha Tower Development Corp. members view the project as a beneficial addition to Aloha Tower Marketplace and a key step toward a long and often unproductive effort to improve prime state land at the harbor.

The agency in the late 1980s selected a previous developer's plan for a hotel, festival marketplace, condos, office building and ferry terminal from piers 5 to 14.

But the $700 million project stalled in the early 1990s after completion of the $100 million Aloha Tower Marketplace that has struggled, in part because planned phases with more parking were not built.

The agency regained development rights for the land in 2000 and has been trying to find someone to finish redevelopment.

In 2002, the agency issued a request for proposals for the piers 5 and 6 site, which is mostly a parking lot. Agency directors embraced an initial plan by Hughes that called for leasehold rental apartments and a hotel.

Over the past three years, Hughes repeatedly modified his plan, which at one time involved selling state land for fee-simple condos — an idea that raised similar concerns over a recent effort by another state agency to sell public land in Kaka'ako for private condos.

The Kaka'ako plan sparked enough of a public backlash that legislators earlier this year blocked the project bordering Kewalo Harbor and Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.

LAND WOULD BE LEASED

No such outcry has been made over Pacific Quay, possibly in part because piers 5 and 6 are part of a state harbor that restricts public use on the water, and because the state is not selling land. Pacific Quay instead would have a 65-year lease from the state.

Still, Aloha Tower Development Corp. directors yesterday said they plan to form a public advisory group to help provide more feedback on the project.

The agency hopes to attract volunteers including members of the area's residential and business community as well as people with expertise in architecture, maritime, real estate, local culture and other areas.

Michelle Matson, a local resident who fought against the private-public Kaka'ako development plan, said she supports Pacific Quay, especially for providing a green public promenade along the waterfront.

John Michael White, a developer who lives and works in Harbor Square, said he's seen many proposals for the piers 5 and 6 site.

"I can say without hesitation ... Ken Hughes is the most qualified," he said. "Let's go with this."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.