Ritz-Carlton’s first Waikiki tower to open to first guests in April

By Leave a Comment

ritz_003California developer Irongate’s The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach condominium-hotel project’s first tower is scheduled to open for its first guests in late April, its general manager told PBN.

The 324-unit, 37-story first tower, known as the “West” tower, also is expected to have one of its restaurants open in April, with its second eatery — Hawaii’s first Dean & DeLuca — and its spa opening in July.

Douglas Chang, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, told PBN on Friday that its 246-unit, 37-story second tower, or “East” tower, which began construction in February, is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.

Both projects have created more than 600 construction jobs.

Located at 2121 Kuhio Ave., adjacent to the Luxury Row of retailers at 2100 Kalakaua that include Chanel and Gucci, the project will include Dean & DeLuca, Sushi Sho, BLT Market, BLT Bar & Grill and likely an ABC Stores Island Country Markets.

This project is the first Ritz-Carlton Residences-branded property on Oahu. There are Ritz-Carlton-branded properties on both Maui and the Big Island.

Lance Wilhelm, managing principal of Irongate’s Hawaii operation, previously told PBN that he is looking forward to finding more redevelopment projects not only in Waikiki but elsewhere in Hawaii.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Honolulu condo project on YMCA site near Ala Moana Center to start construction in early 2016

By Leave a Comment

A rendering for the Aloha Kai condominium across from Honolulu's Ala Moana Center

A rendering for the Aloha Kai condominium across from Honolulu’s Ala Moana Center

The 117-unit, 37-story “Aloha Kai” condominium project planned for the site of the YMCA of Honolulu Central branch on Atkinson Drive across from Ala Moana Center is expected to start construction by early 2016, the developer of the project confirmed to PBN Tuesday.

California-based MB Property Acquisitions LLC has partnered with the Japanese firm Tama Home on the development.

Michael Blumenthal, president of MB Property Acquisitions, told PBN that the project, which will include a new 30,000-square-foot YMCA Central branch with no residential units, a swimming pool and a sophisticated aqua facility that will cater to seniors, will have five levels of parking, with units being built atop those levels of parking.

Aloha Kai encountered a delay after the developer asked for a zoning change that included increasing the its height limit to 350 feet from 150 feet.

“It has taken a while, but we are moving forward,” Blumenthal said, noting that the demolition of the YMCA Central branch should begin in about five months. “It took a little more than a year to get the zone change, but that enhanced the economics of the deal.”

He also pointed out that the focus of the entire project has been on dealing with the YMCA Central branch at first, which will be redeveloped into a three-story, 30,000-square-foot facility.

“The plans for the YMCA [are] 95 percent complete, in terms of the working drawings,” Blumenthal said. “We really focused on designing the YMCA before jumping into the condo tower.”

The conceptual drawings for the condo tower are nearly complete, with Architects Hawaii Ltd., Swinerton Builders and Locations LLC working on the project.

The project, which will encompass about 150,000-square-feet of net saleable square footage, will have four units per floor, with a boutique-like, very private type of feel, according to Blumenthal.

The pricing of the project is still being determined, although he said it is probably going to be around $1,400 per square foot, meaning that a one-bedroom unit of roughly 600 square feet unit would be priced around $840,000.

Aloha Kai also will have a rooftop pool and all units will include lanais that overlook the ocean. There will be no commercial units in the project.

Blumenthal said he was one of the few bidders of the YMCA site to have given the nonprofit organization a portion of the site to build a new branch.

A little more than three years ago, MB Property Acquisitions announced its purchase of about 1.5 acres of the YMCA’s 1.77-acre lot for an undisclosed amount. Blumenthal said he expects to close on the purchase in about three months.

“We have substantial approvals,” he said. “We worked hard to provide a nice facility for the Y.”

The condo part of the project is expected to be completed in about two years.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Register For Updates

First
Last

 

Avalon to break ground on $165M Hawaii Kai residential project

By Leave a Comment

This rendering shows the plan for the 7000 Hawaii Kai residential rental project.

This rendering shows the plan for the 7000 Hawaii Kai residential rental project.

Honolulu-based Avalon Development Co. LLC is set to begin construction Friday on a $165 million Hawaii Kai residential rental project that was first planned as a luxury condominium project by a South Korean developer, and has had starts and stops during the last several years.

The cost to develop the project is pegged at $108 million, but with the land cost penciled in, the total cost of it is $165 million, Christine Camp, president and CEO of Avalon, told PBN.

Originally called the Hale Ka Lae condominium, the project at 7000 Hawaii Kai Drive, which includes two 10-story buildings and a parking structure on nearly four acres of land, is now being called 7000 Hawaii Kai.

There will be a total of 269 units at both market-rate and affordable rates.

Avalon Development was contracted in December by the landowner, South Korea-based Hanwha Engineering and Construction, to develop, redesign and obtain financing for the project. The developer is holding a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the 7000 Hawaii Kai Drive site.

Rents for the affordable portion of the project will range between $1,475 per month to $2,200 per month, while rents for the market-rate units will range from $2,200 per month to $3,700 per month. The rents include maintenance fees.

The developer said that it should finish the project in about 16 months, which would mean the second quarter of 2016.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Korean developer plans 234-unit condo behind Hawaii’s Ala Moana Center

By Leave a Comment

Korean developer plans 234-unit condo behind Hawaii’s Ala Moana Center

The South Korean developer that purchased a 1.4-acre lot behind Ala Moana Center in Honolulu in 2007 told the Hawaii Community Development Authority that it plans to build a 234-unit condominium tower on the site that would integrate with the city’s planned rail station.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports a consultant for SamKoo Development Co. Ltd. told the HCDA this week that the developer is offering the city a narrow piece of its property along Kona Street for the rail line and wold like to incorporate commercial and public space on the tower site at 1391 Kapiolani Blvd. to blend with the rail station, which will be the terminus of the 20-mile line that starts in Kapolei.

T he newspaper reports that within the next few months, SamKoo plans to submit a permit application under interim transit-oriented development rules pending before the Honolulu City Council.

The South Korean investors paid $26 million — or $417 per square foot, a record at that time— for the former Motor Supply Ltd. lot in 2007, but never built a planned luxury condo tower.

 

Staff Pacific Business News

A&B’s proposed Kakaako project will be subject of HCDA hearing

By Leave a Comment

Two groups that oppose the state’s granting of a development permit for The Collection, Alexander & Baldwin’s planned 43-story condominium project in Kakaako, will get to voice their opinions at a hearing on Feb. 19, according to an agenda posted to the Hawaii Community Development Authority’s website.

The hearing, which will be held at the state agency’s office at 461 Cooke St., will include the Association of Apartment Owners of One Waterfront Tower, which is located near the proposed project, and Kakaako United, a nonprofit made up of Kakaako residents, as well as the landowner, Kamehameha Schools, and the developer, A&B.

The groups claim that the HCDA, which is in charge of overseeing the redevelopment of Kakaako, isn’t following its own rules that it has set for the area.

Each participant in the hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., will be allowed 30 minutes to present its position and will have an opportunity to reply to the positions presented by others.

Sales began last summer for The Collection, a $200 million, 397-unit project at 604 Ala Moana Blvd. on the former site of CompUSA. It will feature a high-rise tower, mid-rise building, town homes, and retail shops and restaurants.

Hawaii agency to decide on second condo tower at 801 South St.

By Leave a Comment

Dec 3, 2013, 6:54am HST

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

The Hawaii Community Development Authority expects to make a decision on Wednesday regarding a Honolulu developer’s plan to build a second residential tower in Kakaako with an accompanying 10-story parking garage on the site of the former Honolulu Advertiser building, the state said Monday.

The state agency that’s overseeing the redevelopment of Kakaako is holding a second public hearing on the permit application by Downtown Capital LLC, which is headed up by Hawaii developer Marshall Hung, on Wednesday at its office at 461 Cooke St., starting at 9 a.m.

The workforce housing condominium, which would include some 400 units, is part of the 801 South St. project, which includes a first phase of 635 units that have sold out.

Together, the two towers are expected to have a total of about just over 1,000 units.

The 801 South St. project is expected to cost $400 million to develop and will create 350 construction jobs.

The second building application will include a partial demolition of the back portion of the existing Honolulu Advertiser building, which was once used as a soundstage for the CBS crime drama “Hawaii Five-0.”

The Cove – Construction Update

By Leave a Comment

Building C from Above

Building C from Above

Construction continues to progress well at the Cove Waikiki.  Building A’s third floor concrete slab is being poured in place this Friday and framing of the units will begin next week.  Building B’s foundations will be completed this week and the concrete slab on grade will be in place by the end of next week. Building C’s roof trusses are currently being installed and next week the roof will be in place. We look forward to the completion of the Cove Waikiki in approximately June of 2014.

An intimate mid-rise community offering sophisticated contemporary residences.

The Cove Waikiki is Hawaii’s newest residential community for those who want to live in the heart of Honolulu. Located near world-class shopping, schools, beaches and parks, The Cove Waikiki is your destination for life.

Stanford Carr, Kamehameha Schools team on $300M Kakaako project

By Leave a Comment

Jul 26, 2013, 2:58pm HST Updated: Jul 26, 2013, 3:19pm HST

Duane Shimogawa  |  Reporter- Pacific Business News

Developer Stanford and Kamehameha Schools on Friday formally announced plans for Keauhou Lane in Kakaako, a project that includes a 40-story tower consisting of 600 residential units as well as a low-rise mixed-use residential project with 200 workforce rental apartments.

Keauhou Lane in Kakaako

Keauhou Lane in Kakaako

The $300 million project, which will be located on the site of a surface parking lot along South Street, adjacent to Carr’s Halekauwila rental project and bounded by Halekauwila and Pohukaina streets as well as South and Keawe streets, includes a variety of housing options such as rental apartments, lofts, townhomes, a high-rise tower and live-work space and retail shops and a neighborhood grocery store.

Carr’s Stanford Carr Development would develop the 600 units in the tower, while Kamehameha Schools would develop the workforce rental apartments.

An estimated 40 percent of the housing units at Keauhou Lane will be reserved for middle-income workers. To qualify for a unit, renters may earn up to 100 percent of Honolulu’s median income and fee-simple buyers may earn up to 140 percent to qualify, Carr and Kamehameha Schools said.

Carr’s portion — 400 for-sale units and 200 rental units — will take up about 93,000 square feet of “Block A” of Kamehameha Schools’ “Our Kakaako” master plan, which includes 29 acres on nine city blocks, seven residential towers that include 2,750 units and 300,000 square feet of commercial space.

It also will include a parking structure for residents of Keauhou Lane to use.

Kamehameha Schools’ portion includes 69,387 square feet of property with live-work units, rental apartments and ground floor commercial space.

Combined, the projects will have about 50,000 square feet of recreational spaces, as well as more than 65,000 square feet of open spaces.

Alakea Design Group is the project’s architect and a contractor has yet to be chosen, Carr said.

Keauhou Lane, which is named after a historical private lane that once ran through the property, is the fourth project announced by Kamehameha Schools as part of its Kakaako master plan.

These projects include the Six Eighty Ala Moana rental development, A&B Properties’ “The Collection” and the Salt at Our Kakaako retail complex.

Groundbreaking and construction for the Keauhou Lane project, which may be connected to a Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation rail transit station, are targeted to start in mid to late 2014 with an expected completion date of 2016.

Next up for the development is submitting a development permit application with the state, which should happen in the next 30 days, Carr said.

Stanford Carr’s Kakaako condo project would add 600 residential units, commercial space

By Leave a Comment

Jul 23, 2013, 7:01am HST
Duane Shimogawa  |  Reporter- Pacific Business News

Stanford Carr Development is planning to build a mixed-use high-rise residential project in Kakaako that would include 600 residential units, including townhomes, live-work units, rental apartments and ground floor commercial space.

It will be located in an empty parking lot along South Street, adjacent to Carr’s Halekauwila rental development and bounded by Halekauwila and Pohukaina streets as well as South and Keawe streets.

This map shows the location of Stanford Carr Development's planned 600-unit mixed-use project in Kakaako.

This map shows the location of Stanford Carr Development’s planned 600-unit mixed-use project in Kakaako.

The project involves landowner Kamehameha Schools and the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency charged with overseeing development in areas such as Kakaako.

A Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation rail transit station is located right near this planned development but Carr declined comment on the prospects of it being a part of the new residential project.

“We’re trying to integrate everything,” Carr told PBN. “We challenged ourselves to go before agencies and say, ‘let’s collaborate.’”

PBN first reported this planned development, which will most likely include a neighborhood grocery store as one of its ground-floor commercial components.

Carr told PBN that the project is expected to include a total of 600 units, with 400 units for sale and 200 rental units.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Paul Kay, director of real estate development for Kamehameha Schools, and Carr are expected to make an official announcement regarding the project on Friday.

The development is part of Kamehameha Schools’ “Our Kakaako” master plan, which includes 29 acres on nine city blocks, seven residential towers that include 2,750 units and 300,000 square feet of commercial space.

Search properties for sale at KakaakoProperties.com

 

Ritz-Carlton Waikiki project 85 percent sold

By Leave a Comment

Stephanie Silverstein  |  Reporter- Pacific Business News

More than 85 percent of the 309 luxury condominium units at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach are sold, following a private, invitation-only weekend sale event, developer Pacrep LLC announced Tuesday.

More than 85 percent of the 309 luxury condominium units at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, seen here in this rendering, are sold, following a private, invitation-only weekend sale event.

More than 85 percent of the 309 luxury condominium units at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, seen here in this rendering, are sold, following a private, invitation-only weekend sale event.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach is a 38-story hotel condominium project at 2121 Kuhio Ave., under development by Pacrep LLC with an expected completion date in early 2016.

The sale event was held simultaneously on Saturday in Waikiki, Tokyo and Shanghai, and broadcast through a live webcast, making it possible for potential buyers across the world to participate. More than 8,500 people participated in the webcast.

“We are very pleased with the positive response we have received in such a short time period,” Jason Grosfeld, Pacrep LLC representative said in a statement. “The success of this weekend’s event further reinforces that, for our buyers, Ritz-Carlton is by far their top choice.”

The units range from studios to three bedrooms and penthouses. Amenities include resort pools, a spa and a fitness center.

The remaining units available for purchase through the Pacrep’s sales team range in price from $750,000 to $15 million.

The sales event kicked off with an announcement that sushi restaurant Sushi Sho will open its first location outside of Japan at The Ritz-Carlton Residences project, and that ESquared Hospitality will open BLT Market, a farm-to-table restaurant on the lobby level of the building.

New York-based gourmet market Dean & DeLuca also plans to open its first store in Hawaii in The Ritz-Carlton Residences.

“The addition of The Residences along with our exciting food and beverage partners will further secure Waikiki’s position as a world-class destination and establish this as the premier neighborhood within Waikiki,” Grosfeld said.