The Office of Hawaiian Affairs said Wednesday that it will officially begin preparing to demolish the vacant Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant building along Ala Moana Boulevard in Kakaako Makai.

Demolition crews have started fencing off the dilapidated 10,000-square-feet building as part of a project expected to take a month to complete.

The project, OHA says, calls for salvaging the two iconic restaurant signs on the roof of the building and a free-standing restaurant sign at ground level.

The agency wants to incorporate the signs into future development at the site, part of 30 acres OHA has owned in Kakaako Makai through a deal with the state in 2012.

Fisherman’s Wharf.

KITV

The building is more than 70 years old and has become too cost-prohibitive to renovate. OHA said it is also infested with termites and rats. The restaurant, which was popular in its heyday, has been closed since 2009.

The demolition also comes at a time when OHA is drawing up a master plan focused on “fulfilling the potential” for its properties in Kakaako Makai to generate revenue to help Native Hawaiians.

“We expect to keep any inconvenience from the demolition to a minimum as this project allows us to address a serious health hazard and put us on a path to establish in the area a new presence that reflects a Hawaiian sense of place,” said Kamana‘opono Crabbe, OHA’s CEO said in a statement.

During the 2014 Hawaii Legislature, OHA was unsuccessful in persuading legislators to pass a bill that would have allowed residential development on three of its Kakaako Makai properties.