HPR
Honolulu’s Downtown Art Center has been gaining momentum since the 10,000-square-foot space opened in October. In fact, shows are booked into next year, but now there's a hitch—the center is facing a possibly crippling rent hike.
Two months ago, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi toured the Downtown Art Center on the second floor of Chinatown Gateway Plaza at Nu'uanu and Hotel streets. The city owns the space, and when it was made available to the art center last year, volunteers reclaimed the space—trashing dividers, rerouting electrical trunk lines and air conditioning ducts, and redoing walls and floors to create a pristine 4,000-square-foot gallery.