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Tenants begin moving in to renovated apartments in Kalaeloa

July 5, 2015 By Mark G. Howard Leave a Comment

New residents of Hunt Companies’ recently renovated Wakea Garden Apartments can move in this week.

The former bachelor officer quarters at the Naval Air Station at Barbers Point underwent a $12 million renovation as part of Hunt Companies’ 20-year plan to redevelop 540 acres in Kalaeloa. On Tuesday, the apartments were blessed by Shad Kane of the Kalaeloa Heritage and Legacy Foundation as part of a ceremony to celebrate the opening.

Rent for one-bedroom, one-bath units will range from $1,200 to $1,500 per month. All of the units qualify as reserved housing due to the rent being lower than than the Hawaii Community Development Authority’s limit of 140 percent of average income of households in the area. Cirrus Asset Management Inc., manager of the Kalaeloa property, said the average rent for one-bedroom apartments in the area is $1,600 per month.

The former bachelor officer quarters were abandoned in 2006, and the renovation is the first part of Hunt Companies’ plan to revitalize the area. Hunt’s Hawaii Division has been active for more than 20 years, renovating underutilized military properties and building homes for more than 6,600 military families. Its projects include Palamanui and Ke Kailani on the Big Island and the Kilauea Lighthouse Village on Kauai.

Shiwani Johnson
Pacific Business News

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Blog, General Real Estate Tagged With: Hawaii Community Development Authority, Wakea Garden Apartments

How Tall Can a Honolulu Building Be? It Depends…

January 9, 2014 By idx guys Leave a Comment

Some people are nervously watching the skies, not for UFOs, but for very tall buildings. Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s announcement of a 650-foot high-rise for Kakaako last May, combined with plans for 20 high-rise condos to be built in Kakaako in coming years, has reignited concerns about building height limits. Even architects think the rules are unclear and some of them, as well as residents and legislators, worry that height limits aren’t consistently enforced.

Kakaako became HCDA’s first Community Development District when the Authority was formed, in 1976. ILLUSTRATION: GARY SAITO

Kakaako became HCDA’s first Community Development District when the Authority was formed, in 1976.
ILLUSTRATION: GARY SAITO

First off, while it’s commonly believed that the height limit is 400 feet, the reality is that there are as many as 10 to 15 height limits on Oahu, depending on the zoning for a given area, ranging from 25 feet in residential neighborhoods to 400 feet or more. But, explains architect Scott R. Wilson, chair of American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honolulu’s Regional and Urban Design Committee, zoning changes in a neighborhood can change height limits, and there are seven Special Design Districts on Oahu, each with its own height limits, resulting in a patchwork of plans.

One such district, Waikiki, even has a graduated set of limits, from 220 feet at the Diamond Head end to 350 feet at the Ala Moana end. The 350-foot limit is consistent with downtown Honolulu’s limit, though there are exceptions there, too, such as First Hawaiian Center, the Islands’ tallest building at 429 feet.

Why do height limits top out at about 350 to 400 feet? “City planners wanted to ensure that Diamond Head was not hidden or overwhelmed by buildings,” explains Wilson. “So they chose a height limit that was just under half its (roughly) 800-foot height.”

The City and County of Honolulu sets height limits everywhere on Oahu except in fast-growing Kakaako, where the state’s Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) has the final say on zoning and height limits. The HCDA has an ambitious, pedestrian- and transit-friendly urban plan with height and setback limits, but residents are concerned the HCDA is too willing to grant developers variances to exceed those limits.

“Our residents support redevelopment and modernization, but they don’t want a concrete jungle, like Makiki or Waikiki,” says Rep. Scott Saiki. He worries about variances, 650-foot towers and what he feels is unresponsiveness to the Legislature on the part of HCDA. “With the public scrutiny [about height and density issues] and growing concern at the Legislature about the autonomy of the HCDA, we will take a hard look at the statutory framework of the HCDA in the January session.”

HCDA executive director Anthony Ching says the rules in Kakaako are straightforward: an overall height limit of 400 feet (plus another 18 feet for machinery). Any developer who wants to exceed that has to meet three criteria—at least 75 percent of the units must be priced as affordable workforce housing, the building must receive no government subsidies and the maximum unit size must be 1,100 square feet for a three-bedroom—before he or she can ask for a height variance.

Even then, “it doesn’t mean they’ll automatically get the variance,” says Ching. As for the three possible 650-foot towers, he says rules will be set by this summer, after the environmental impact statement is reviewed. “To build to that height, the project must offer an exemplary public benefit,” says Ching, “and the rules will include public input on the project.”

(Disclosure: Napier served as a volunteer public member of the AIA Honolulu board during his production of this piece, but it does not reflect any board stance on building heights.)

http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/January-2014/How-Tall-Can-a-Honolulu-Building-Be-It-Depends/

Filed Under: Featured Blog, HONOLULU, WAIKIKI Tagged With: Hawaii Community Development Authority

Proposed Kakaako amusement park receives key state permit

August 20, 2013 By idx guys Leave a Comment

Aug 12, 2013, 2:20pm HST
Duane Shimogawa  |  Reporter- Pacific Business News

The developer of a $10 million Kakaako amusement park that will feature a go-cart track, miniature golf course, wave pool, indoor skydiving, skate park, rock climbing wall and several carnival amusement rides has received a key special management area permit from the state.

Alii International Services LLC is headed by Hawaii entrepreneur and extreme sports enthusiast Billy Balding, who has done work as a marine film coordinator and business consultant. He is calling the Kakaako Adventure Park “an urban adventure thrill-tainment and edu-tainment attraction in Kakaako.”

Kakaako_masterplan-largeThe park, which aims to create 30 jobs, is planned on three acres owned by Kamehameha Schools along Ala Moana Boulevard at 222 Ahui St.

In addition to Balding, the project involves James Owen, former president of Discover Hawaii Tours.

Neither Balding nor Owen could be reached for comment.

Anthony Ching, executive director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which is charged with developing Kakaako among other areas, told PBN that Alii International Services has already received its development permit and is in the process of negotiating a lease with Kamehameha Schools.

Filed Under: Featured Blog, Hawaii Community Development Authority, Kakaako, Kamehameha Schools Tagged With: Hawaii Community Development Authority, Kakaako, Kamehameha Schools

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

July 23, 2013 By idx guys 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

 

Filed Under: Hawaii Community Development Authority, Kakaako, Kamehameha Schools, New Condos for sale Tagged With: Hawaii Community Development Authority, Honolulu high rise, Kakaako, Kamehameha Schools, new condo construction, New Condos

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