Hawai'i's largest private owner of industrial land is making a major push to get a transit station in Mapunapuna.

A train station could help redevelop the area for increased industrial, commercial and residential use, according to Reit Management & Research, which manages 150 acres of Mapunapuna land for Massachusetts-based HRPT Properties Trust.

However, the property owner's efforts may be too late. The City Council approved the general rail route and approximate location of the 19 stations in January 2007. The city hopes to break ground on the $3.7 billion elevated commuter rail system next year and complete the entire route from East Kapolei to Ala Moana in 2018.

Whether HRPT is successful in getting the city to change its plans could be closely watched by others along the proposed route who may want train stations closer to their property. The stations, which are expected to generate peak traffic of 9,000 people per hour, are likely to spur a slew of commercial and residential developments.

Attracting a station to Mapunapuna now is "priority one," according to Bradford Leach, vice president of the pacific region for Reit Management & Research.

"We're willing to spend our own money, and our own time and our own costs in order to assist the city in any way," said Leach during a City Council meeting last week. "If that includes providing some land, selling some land, using our money, we don't have an issue with that."

Under current plans the proposed commuter rail will cut through Mapunapuna without stopping. Placing a station in Mapunapuna would be difficult, according to city transportation director Wayne Yoshioka. That's because of the engineering challenge created as the elevated track transitions from the higher Salt Lake area into the low-lying Mapunapuna area.

Any station within Mapunapuna would have to be 120 feet high. In addition, placing a station in Mapunapuna could delay plans to file the transit project's draft environmental impact study with the federal government this summer, according to the city.

DETAILS AWAITED

Still, city officials are not completely ruling out the possibility of placing a station in Mapunapuna and are waiting for a written proposal from HRPT.

"If somebody were to come to the table with some real concrete words and something in writing, I think that's a lot different. ... That has a lot to do with how we view whether it's a real offer or something that's just a pie in the sky," Yoshioka told council members during a hearing last week.

Economic development opportunities along the path of the new rail line are expected to vary significantly.

Some areas already packed with commercial buildings, such as Salt Lake, have less opportunity to design new developments around train stations, according to a February 2007 report by project consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff. Salt Lake, which would have two stations, is already built-out, or contains land controlled by the military, Parsons Brinckerhoff said.

In comparison, the redevelopment opportunity in Mapunapuna could be significant. Much of the area is owned by one company — Newton, Mass.-based HRPT.

HRPT, which owns office and industrial properties throughout the United States, has a market value of nearly $1.7 billion. HRPT paid the Damon Estate $480 million in December 2003 for the Mapunapuna land, along with property in Kalihi Kai.

CACHOLA ON BOARD

The hurdles for developing Mapunapuna include the fact that much of the property is tied up in long-term leases. In addition, zoning changes likely would be required before the development of residential housing in Mapunapuna could occur.

Council member Romy Cachola, who represents the area, said Mapunapuna is ripe for redevelopment. Cachola is pushing the city to consider a Mapunapuna stop.

"We have the opportunity of a land owner who's willing to assist" the city, Cachola said. "They should at least look into that and see if it works."