Call : 808-791-2923
Hawaii Americana Realty Serving Hawaii's Most Beautiful Beaches and Homes, and Serving Them To You!
  • Home
  • Metro
    • Alewa Heights
    • Aliamanu
    • Dowsett
    • Kakaako
    • Kalihi Area
      • Kalihi Lower
      • Kalihi Uka
      • Kalihi Upper
      • Kalihi Valley
    • Kalama Valley
    • Kam Heights
    • Kapahulu
    • Kapalama
    • Kapiolani Area
    • Liliha
    • Makiki Heights
    • Manoa Area
      • Manoa Lower
      • Manoa Upper
      • Manoa Woodlawn
    • Moanalua Gardens
    • Maoanlua Valley
    • Moiliili
    • Nuuanu Area
    • Pacific Heights
    • Palolo Valley
    • Pauoa Valley
    • Punahou
    • Punchbowl
    • Salt Lake
  • Diamond Head
    • Aina Haina
    • Diamond Head
    • Hawaii Loa Ridge
    • Kahala / Black Point
    • Kai Nani
    • Kaimuki
    • Kalani Iki
    • Kuliouou
    • Niu Beach and Valley
    • Paiko Lagoon
    • Palolo
    • St. Louis Heights
    • Waialae Areas
    • Wilhelmina
  • Hawaii Kai
    • Hahaione Upper & Lower
    • Kalama Valley
    • Koko Head Terrace
    • Koko Kai
    • Koko Villas
    • Mariners Cove
    • Mariners Ridge
    • Mariners Valley
    • Napali Haweo
    • Portlock
    • Queens Gate
    • Triangle
    • West Marina
  • Kailua
    • Coconut Grove
    • Enchanted Lake
    • Hillcrest
    • Kailua Town Condos
    • Kawailoa
    • Keolu Hills
    • Waimanalo
  • Kaneohe
    • Hauula
    • Kaaawa
    • Kaalaea
    • Mahinui
    • Punaluu
    • Temple Valley
    • Windward Estates
  • Northshore
    • Haleiwa
    • Kahuku Malaekahan
    • Laie
    • Mokuleia
    • Paalaakai
    • Sunset Area
    • Sunset Velzy
    • Waialua
  • Leeward
    • Lualulalei
    • Maili
    • Makaha
    • Nanakuli
    • Sea Country
    • Waianae
  • Ewa Plain
    • Ag / Indl / Navy
    • Ewa
    • Ewa Beach
    • Gentry Subdivisions
    • Hawaiian Homes Land
    • Hoakalei – Ka Makana
    • Huelani
    • Kapolei Condos
    • Kapolei Homes
    • Ko Olina
    • Leeward Estates
    • Nanakai Gardens
    • Ocean Point
    • Westloch Estates
    • Westloch Fairway
  • Makakilo
    • Highpointe
    • Kahiwelo
    • Kumulani
    • Makakilo
    • Makakilo – Lower
    • Makakilo – Upper
    • Palehua Heights
    • Royal Ridge
    • Starsedge
    • Wai Kaloi
    • West Hills
  • Waipahu
    • Crestview
    • Harbor View
    • Renaissance
    • Robinson Heights
    • Royal Kunia
    • Seaview
    • Village Park
    • Waikele
    • Waipahu
    • Waipahu – Lower
    • Waipahu Estates
    • Waipahu Gardens
    • Waipahu Triangle
    • Waipio Gentry
  • Central
    • Launani Valley
    • Mililani Condo $100k – $250k
    • Mililani Condo $251k – $500k
    • Mililani SFR $400k – $600k
    • Mililani SFR $600k – $800k
    • Mililani SFR Over $800k
    • Wahiawa Area
    • Wahiawa Heights
    • Waipio Acres
    • Whitmore Village
    • Wilikina
  • Pearl City
    • Aiea Area
    • Aiea Heights
    • Foster Village
    • Halawa
    • Halawa Heights
    • Manana
    • Navy / Federal
    • Newtown
    • Pacific Palisades
    • Pearl City
    • Pearl City – Lower
    • Pearlridge
    • Royal Summit
    • Waiau
    • Wailuna
    • Waimalu
  • Contact Us

Kakaako’s Building Boom – Part One

May 20, 2013 By idx guys Leave a Comment

Landowners and the state share a vision of a walkable, live-work-and-play community with both high- and low-rise buildings.

When the governor takes a meeting at the trendy Fresh Café in the midst of Kakaako’s gritty warren of body shops and warehouses, something big is cooking. When the meeting includes a major landowner and innovators from the community, you can bet what’s cooking is Kakaako itself.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie called that recent meeting to discuss what he calls the “Third City,” a live-work-and-play urban neighborhood of the near future with cafes, parks, lofts, preschools and senior centers, startups, stores, and high-rises with upscale and affordable housing.

Visions of a transformed Kakaako have been bandied about for three decades, but this time the landowners and state agencies are working together more closely, and dozens of projects are going forward in the next few years. If it comes together, it will be a multibillion-dollar investment that brings jobs, housing and new vitality to Honolulu’s core.

Currently available Kaka’ako area properties for sale

“We’re gearing up for a new day for Kakaako,” Abercrombie says. “We have a chance to initiate the next, exciting urban center in the country.”

In a rush of words, he describes a walkable community of high-rise condos and rentals, including the state’s tallest building, plus stores, innovative businesses, and sites for music, dance and artistic expression – all reflecting Hawaii’s culture and our Pacific location.

The big private landowners are generally in sync with this vision. “It’s the most exciting asset in our portfolio. We’re definitely moving forward,” says David M. Striph, senior VP-Hawaii for the Howard Hughes Corp., Kakaako’s largest private landowner with 60 acres, including the Ward Centers.

Of course, not all conflicts are over. The Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA), the state agency that oversees Kakaako’s development, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs disagree over plans to upgrade Kewalo Basin, a small harbor now used mostly by tour companies. Other disputes are simmering, but, barring an economic catastrophe, a transformation of much of Kakaako’s 670 acres appears unstoppable.
Kakaako_masterplan-large

It will happen with or without rail. But, if rail goes ahead, there will be two stations here: the first, called Civic Center, at Halekauwila near Keauhou Street; the second, called Kakaako Station, will be near where the Ross store is on Ward Avenue.

Once thought of as the ugly duckling of urban Honolulu, a place crowded with repair shops, warehouses and other low-rent businesses, Kakaako has had more than 40 projects and $200 million worth of infrastructure improvements completed since 1988 in preparation for its full emergence as Honolulu’s new swan. Here are some of the upcoming projects:

  • The state’s half-billion-dollar transit-oriented development, called 690 Pohukaina, will include the state’s tallest building, at 650 feet, and a mix of affordable and market-priced residential units for sale and rent. Bids to plan, build and operate it were due by the end of August. The first phase is in the permit stage.
  • Howard Hughes Corp. plans next fall to open the Ward Village Shops Phase II on Auahi Street, next to the T.J. Maxx store, comprising 57,000 square feet of retail space over two floors.
  • Kamehameha Schools, with 29 Kakaako acres mauka of Ala Moana boulevard, has three pending projects: 54 affordable loft-style apartments, with rents from $1,400 to $1,600 a month, will be available for rent starting this month or next in the repurposed building at 680 Ala Moana; a 400-foot residential tower and low-rise townhomes to be built by Alexander & Baldwin on the former CompUSA site with scheduled construction start date in 2014; and a low-rise gathering place with cafes, shops and open space just mauka of 680 Ala Moana, and bounded by Auahi, Coral and Keawe Streets.

As part of that project, modifications of existing buildings on Auahi Street are scheduled to begin next year and finish in 2014, KS says. This $30-million urban square will be called Salt to commemorate the salt ponds that Hawaiians built in this area in the 1700s, says KS development manager Linda Schatz.

Currently available Kaka’ako area properties for sale

“This ingenuity has become a source of inspiration,” says Schatz. “It will be the outdoor living room for the residents and tenants in that area, a place where people can hang out, gather, bump into friends. It’s on a human scale.”

By Beverly Creamer
HawaiiBusiness.com

Filed Under: Featured Blog, Kakaako Tagged With: Kakaako

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Existing Users

Quick Search

Search Honolulu County Cities

  • Browse by City in Hawaii Central MLS
  • Browse by City in Hawaii Central MLS

Browse Oahu Real Estate by Price

  • Browse Real Estate For Sale by Price
  • Browse Real Estate For Sale by Price

Oahu Luxury Estates

  • Luxury Estates $10M plus
  • Luxury Estates $2M – $3M
  • Luxury Estates $3M – $4M
  • Luxury Estates $4M – $5M
  • Luxury Estates $5M - $6M
  • Luxury Estates $6M – $8M
  • Luxury Estates $8M – $10M

Kaka’ako High-Rise

  • 909 Kapiolani
  • 1350 Ala Moana
  • Hawaiki Tower
  • Hokua
  • Imperial Plaza
  • Keola Lai
  • Koolani
  • Moana Pacific
  • Nauru Tower
  • One Waterfront Towers
  • Pacifica Honolulu
  • Royal Capitol Plaza

Info

  • Client Login
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Fair Housing
  • US Residential Property Buying Guide
  • General Real Estate
  • Directory of Vendors
  • FOR SELLERS
  • Reviews

Ko Olina Beach Resort

  • Ko Olina Beachvillas
  • Ko Olina Coconut Plantation
  • Ko Olina Fairways
  • Ko Olina Hillside Villas
  • Ko Olina Kai Golf Estates
  • Ko Olina Kai Lani
  • Ko Olina Olani

Oahu Real Estate Listings

  • Waikiki Vacation Rental Properties
  • Oahu New Construction
  • Oahu Commercial Property

Oahu Luxury Condos

  • Luxury Condos $1M – $2M
  • Luxury Condos $2M – $3M
  • Luxury Condos $3M – $4M
  • Luxury Condos $4M +

Waikiki By Price

  • Waikiki $150,000 – $200,000
  • Waikiki $200,000 – $250,000
  • Waikiki $250,000 – $300,000
  • Waikiki $300,000 – $350,000
  • Waikiki $350,000 – $450,000
  • Waikiki $450,000 – $600,000
  • Waikiki $600,000 – $1M
  • Waikiki $1,000,000 plus
© 2014 - Hawaii Americana Realty. All Rights Reserved. Hawaii Americana Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. Subject to change without notice. While the information on this site is deemed to be accurate, Hawaii Americana Realty. does not guarantee its accuracy, and provides this information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. Hawaiian Americana Realty, Inc. 134 Kapahulu Ave., CUB, Honolulu, HI 96815 * by appointment only * RB20383 / RB20384