What gets built next to the Hōʻaeʻae rail station in West Loch will shape Waipahu for decades. Costco wants a 24-pump gas station on Farrington Highway at the old Don Quijote site. Waipahu residents want affordable homes and a grocery store. The lot sits steps from the Honolulu Skyline, on a busy highway, surrounded by families who need places to live and food to buy.
The Proposal
Costco is asking the City and County of Honolulu for a permit to build a 24-pump gas station beside the West Loch Skyline station. Plans for the site have also included a Costco Business Center—a wholesale warehouse aimed at businesses.
The Keep Waipahu Moving campaign has laid out why this is the wrong fit:
More traffic on Farrington Highway. A large gas station draws more cars onto a road that is already congested.
Less safe for people walking and biking. More cars turning in and out make the area more dangerous for people on foot and on bikes.
It works against the rail station. The area falls under the city’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) rules and the Waipahu Neighborhood TOD Plan. Those documents call for walkable streets, active storefronts, and more transit riders. A gas station creates the opposite dynamic.
It pushes out local businesses. Keep Waipahu Moving says the project would displace long-standing businesses, including Zippy’s, a Waipahu gathering place for 55 years that employs around 50 people.
Pedestrian safety is one of the top concerns for the Pilina Builders. The crossing on Leoku Street is already one of the most dangerous places on Oʻahu for people on foot. That is why the City has been investing in pedestrian improvements there and across Waipahu. More gas station traffic would make the danger worse and undercut those improvements, along with the public dollars spent on rail.
The city has spent years planning for rail in Waipahu. Using the land next to a station for gas pumps would undo that work.
A day next to Hōʻaeʻae station
Drag through the day to compare life on the block with a 24-pump gas station and with homes and a grocery store.
Illustrative scenes, not traffic counts. The station is expected to run 24 hours.
What Waipahu Wants
The Pilina Builders are a group of women from ʻEwa and Waipahu who meet regularly to talk about their lived experiences and concerns around transportation, housing, and the future of their communities. When they asked members of their communities what the old Don Quijote site should become, two answers kept coming up: affordable housing and a grocery store.
Affordable homes. Families in Waipahu are struggling to keep up with rent. Homes near rail would let people get to work, school, and appointments without needing a car for every trip.
A grocery store people can walk to. Losing Don Quijote left a gap. A full grocery store within walking distance matters most for kūpuna, families without a car, and anyone working long hours.
A gas station meets neither need. A warehouse store with a membership fee and bulk-size goods does not replace a neighborhood grocery. Neighbors are asking for a site that serves the people who actually live here.
The Pilina Builders are taking their message beyond their communities and straight to decision makers. Members reached out to the people who represent Waipahu and asked to meet about the site. In these meetings, members will share what they heard from their community: Waipahu needs homes and food access, and the land next to rail should serve those needs.
How To Help
The city has not decided yet, so your voice still counts. Here is how to add it:
Sign the petition asking the city to deny Costco’s permit at keepwaipahumoving.org.
Contact decision makers with the testimony template. It takes about 5 minutes.
Testify at the next hearing. Check the hearing schedule.
Tell the Waipahu Neighborhood Board where you stand.
Do you live in ʻEwa or Waipahu and want to share your voice? Join an upcoming Pilina Builders meeting and help shape what comes next for the Don Quijote site. Contact maile@hiappleseed.org for more information.
