Hawaii Gems
Irish know-how saves local landmarks

by Toni M. Todd

Where chalkboards once hung, fine art now graces the walls of the former Waimea Elementary School. Four generations of students, many still living on Hawai'i Island, spent their cavity-prone years roaming its hallowed halls. So when the Department of Education flagged the aging edifice for destruction, former students and members of the community turned to contractor Thomas Quinlan and the Hawai'i Historical Society for help.
"The policy on these obsolete buildings has been a policy of demolition. We want to change that to demolition or removal," says Quinlan. Today, the old school sits on the campus of the Hawai'i Preparatory Academy, a half mile from where it once nurtured students. It is now known as the Isaacs Arts Center and has been added to the Hawai'i State Register of Historic Places. Completely refurbished, it promises to shine in all its plantation-days glory for decades to come.
Quinlan is a man undaunted in his mission. He sees his work as more than simply saving old, ramshackle buildings that had seen far better days.
"It's a way to help people maintain pride in their heritage, to take pride in who they are; their past, their ancestry, their culture. The fact that I'm from Ireland, I get into some sticky situations," he admits.
Sticky indeed. Quinlan says he often takes heat from locals who disapprove of his attempts to preserve a heritage that is not his own.
"They might say, 'Haole go home.' I say, 'I'm just from a little island myself and we're still trying to get rid of the Brits!'"
Corralling homes
Quinlan, who was born in Limerick, says he was born to restore the past. "My father and my grandfather did it before me. We've been doing it for generations."
In his homeland, the family is credited with restoring the Castle Bunratty, a medieval stone structure in County Clare dating to 960 A.D. In addition to the castle itself, Quinlan says, "We brought in little houses and businesses, representing the spinner, the baker, the fisherman, the forge, the weaver," and others, creating an authentic medieval village to match.
Today, Castle Bunratty hosts educational tours and serves meals of the period.
"It's about taking pride in what we have," insists Quinlan, who moved to Hawai'i in 1988. For years he served on the board of directors of the Hawai'i Historical Society on O'ahu. In 2004, Quinlan convinced the organization to open an office on Hawai'i Island.
In addition to schools, stores and hotels, Quinlan also restores homes. He sees this as a practical way to provide affordable housing to locals. "It's also a way to help with some of the social issues we have in Hawai'i," he says.
Quinlan describes a new subdivision in Waimea as "really sterile"-a typical American suburban "paradise." Adjacent is five acres of pastureland. The owners wanted to sell and knew the land would be developed, but did not want it to end up looking like suburbia next door. The sellers felt compelled to do whatever they could to keep the property affordable for locals and maintain a feel and lifestyle of old Hawai'i.
"So instead of streets, we've created a large corral," says Quinlan. "People access their individual houses from outside the perimeter of the property." Only emergency vehicles, he says, are allowed into the center. The homes will surround the corral area, which will be a place for children to play safely and a place for the neighbors to gather.
Quinlan will bring in old cowboy houses to surround the corral. These homes will be salvaged and moved from elsewhere on the island.
Free homes,
no chickens
Prior to moving or restoring buildings, Quinlan gets them registered as historic, either with the state or federal government. This exempts the structures from building codes, except where health and safety are concerned. It also provides tax breaks for investors and owners.
Quinlan says he has restored homes and barns at the request of owners. He has also removed old homes from properties, then moved them and restored them elsewhere. Restorations done at an owner's request can be done for a fraction of the cost of building new; about $150 per square foot. Quinlan says he has about three houses per month available for anyone interested. He encourages those who want to put an historic home or 'ohana house on their property to contact him.
Volcano resident Jenny Krauss owns one of the many restored homes around the island. Hers was initially moved from the Parker Ranch in South Kohala, and eventually to the other side of the island. "We really wanted to help preserve Hawai'i's history," she says.
Many of the restored homes are provided to locals for free. "We have so far only given them to people who appreciate them," Quinlan says, but then admits, "We gave one to someone who used it as a chicken coop." As a result, new owners must now sign an agreement to maintain the integrity of the house.

Good investments
Ian Glass is a young architect who works with Quinlan in the Waimea office. He describes Quinlan's restoration of The Nambu Hotel in Kapa'au (built in 1898).
"It was really falling down. A lot of people questioned whether it could be fixed," he says. Quinlan approached the owners, a family that lived at the back of the lot on which the hotel sat. He explained to them that by saving it, they would also save a sizeable chunk of their property. New setback requirements would move the county's right-of-way well into their land from the road if the building came down. But if the hotel continued to stand, the old setback could remain. The family came on board. Next, they found an investor.
"We were able to restore it at a cost well below the cost of demolition and rebuilding," says Glass. That, in turn, helps keep the rents low for prospective shopkeepers. Today, the Nambu hosts a café, a bookstore and several offices upstairs.
Glass says that in restoring a historic structure, a builder must follow strict standards set by the Secretary of the Interior. "We salvage whatever material we can from the original building. That's one of my favorite parts, the recycling aspect of all this," he says. Glass adds, "I've been here a year now and my view of what's junk and what's not has changed."
In many cases it is the community that provides the impetus for restoration, as happened with Waimea Elementary. In Holualoa, community leaders wanted to develop a heritage corridor, so they asked Quinlan and crew to save the Tomikawa Store. "A developer bought it and planned to demolish," says Quinlan, who admitted the building was in pretty bad shape. "Only the termites were holding hands to keep it up," he says.
After some convincing, the owner agreed to allow the building to be restored.
"We asked the community what businesses they wanted to bring in," he said. "They emphasized, 'We don't want any real estate agencies. We have lots of artists here.'"
As a result, the Tomikawa Store became home to a graphic design shop, an organic health food store and a lomi lomi massage studio. Other examples of Quinlan's passion include the Old Kona Theater and the Greenwell Store in South Kona.
Funding for the restoration projects may well be the trickiest part of each endeavor. For commercial buildings, it's easier. The owner of the old Nambu Hotel leased the building to Quinlan and his investor for 35 years for $10,000 per year. The rents paid by the business tenants cover principal and interest. After 35 years, the building's use and management revert back to the owner. Quinlan claims a "super return" for investors, "Way better than any bank," he insists.
In addition to interest, investors get a 20 percent tax exemption on income earned. If owners live on the property, whether it's commercial or residential, they can apply for an exemption from property taxes.
Grants from non-profit organizations are another major funding source for such restoration projects. Quinlan has recently trained his focus on restoring pre-contact sites on the island. The Kekui Pahu Heiau, located near Kapa'au on the Puakea Ranch, was built in 400 A.D. "We're working to create an interactive heritage center there for kids," says Quinlan.
Employment opportunities are available too. "If there are young people out there looking for a job," he says, "we're willing to teach them the specialized construction skills needed to save their heritage." n
On the Web
Hawai'i Historical Society
hawaiianhistory.org/

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