Honolulu Development News

[desertpunk]

Waihonua Tower

The 43-story Waihonua at Kewalo tower is planned for a 1.73-acre lot sandwiched between the Hawaiki and Koolani towers that A&B purchased last year.

The building will have 345 one-, two- and three-bedroom units that will be priced starting at $400,000, $565,000 and $720,000. There will also be seven penthouse units.

The architects are Design Partners Inc. of Honolulu and Pappageorge Haymes of Chicago, with interior design by Honolulu-based Philpotts & Associates.

It’s being referred to as an “upscale” project because of the finishes in the units, but not as upscale as the luxury Hokua, whose units are more spacious and have better, unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean.

[JaguarReign]

As far as I can remember, I think no building can be taller than the First Hawaiian Center.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by JaguarReign

As far as I can remember, I think no building can be taller than the First Hawaiian Center.

[IMG]http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/7762/450pxfirsthawaiiancente.jpg[IMG]

The state changed those rules to allow towers as high as 650 ft in a small section of Honolulu. A new tower of that height is in the works.


690 Pohukaina

http://www.gokakaako.com/2012/01/690-pohukaina-rfp/

According to Pacific Business News, the HCDA has revised its Request For Proposals to develop 680 Pohukaina, working from community feedback and setting a target for the amount of residential housing it will include.

The 690 Pohukaina development will be accomplished in three phases. The first phase is an affordable housing development with rental units and associated parking. Completing all phases of the project will require increased density and additional building height to accommodate the density.

The 690 Pohukaina Development site is located one block from the city’s proposed rail transit station. It is within a few blocks from the city’s bus transit hub at Alapai Street.

Selection of a developer for the 690 Pohukaina Mixed Use Transit Oriented Development is expected to be complete by November 2012. The development and approval of transit oriented development plans and administrative rules (including the environmental impact statement) is expected to be completed by September 2013.

[JaguarReign]

Yeah, I was reading they are putting that tower in Kakaako. They seem to be really building that district up after the addition of the medical school. Hopefully they tore down that awful looking house or old church that was there forever.

[ZKB9]

Beautiful city! Any news on the rail system they're supposed to get in Honolulu? Is that moving forward or what?

[jam5]

Originally Posted by ZKB9

Beautiful city! Any news on the rail system they're supposed to get in Honolulu? Is that moving forward or what?

I think they just got started. There aren't any recent news articles on the project, but you can follow its progress on the Honolulu Rail Transit webpage.

[ZKB9]

Quoted from the transit site:

"When will the train start operating?
The initial section from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium is slated to open in 2015; Kapolei to Middle Street in 2017; and the system is set to be fully operational, from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center, in 2019."

Dang, too long!!

[Nexis]

Thats only 7 years away , that's not too long..

[nicholasrudar]

the 690 Pohukaina reminds me much of the Gas Company Tower in Los Angeles

[desertpunk]

StarAdvertizer

Ward Centers redevelopment plan gets makeover

$1.25 billion first phase to start in 2014

By Andrew Gomes

POSTED: 11:09 a.m. HST, Oct 10, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 11:19 a.m. HST, Oct 10, 2012


Courtesy image
This artists rendering shows what Auahi Street will look like once construction is completed on a redesign of the area.

The owner of Ward Centers unveiled a revised vision today for redeveloping the collection of retail and industrial businesses covering 60 acres in Kakaako into a neighborhood dominated by residences and retail.

The new plan by Howard Hughes Corp. calls for skinnier towers and better mauka-makai views between them, among other changes that replace a four-year-old conceptual master plan created by former site owner, General Growth Properties.

Hughes Corp. anticipates being able to start construction on an initial phase that includes two market-priced residential towers and one moderate-priced residential tower in early 2014. A renovation of the IBM office building also is part of the first phase that the company said will generate $1.25 billion in economic impact and 9,000 jobs. Completion of the first phase is projected for 2016.

The revised vision comes two years after Texas-based Hughes Corp. acquired Ward Centers from Chicago-based General Growth as part of a deal to bring General Growth out of bankruptcy. "The Howard Hughes Corp. is honored to take a leading role in the evolution of Kakaako," Nick Vanderboom, company vice president of development, said in a written statement.

The new plan for Ward Centers, which Hughes Corp. is calling Ward Village, represents a significant modification of the plan crafted by General Growth, which owns the state's largest shopping center, Ala Moana Center, located about a quarter-mile from Ward Centers.

General Growth announced its conceptual redevelopment plan for the Ward property in 2008. The Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency governing development in Kakaako, approved a broad framework in 2009, allowing up to 9.3 million square feet of building area on the 60 acres roughly bounded by Ala Moana, Queen Street, the IBM Building at the diamondhead end of Auahi Street and a cluster of parcels just ewa of Ward Avenue.

[...]

[desertpunk]

Tower Of Contention


http://2121kuhiotower.com/

The orientation of a proposed Waikiki condo will block ocean views, some nearby residents say

By Andrew Gomes
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 21, 2012

The Waikiki Neighborhood Board and residents of a Kuhio Avenue condominium are contesting a developer’s plan for a 34-story condominium-hotel, arguing that the tower’s orientation violates special Waikiki design guidelines.

Los Angeles-based developer Pacrep LLC announced plans in July for the 459-unit tower called 2121 Kuhio at the corner of Kuhio Avenue and Kalai*moku Street toward the Ewa end of Waikiki.

[JuanPaulo]

HONOLULU| 690 Pohukaina | 200m | 650ft | 70 fl | Pro

Two developers competing for Honolulu's next tallest:

OPTION 1: Lend Lease









For more information, see this PDF file




OPTION 2: Forest City:







For more information, see this PDF file

[vrhunski]

is there any update for 690pohukaina ?

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by vrhunski

is there any update for 690pohukaina ?

Yep:

Forest City Hawaii chosen to develop 690 Pohukaina project

Date: Thursday, December 13, 2012, 10:42am HST - Last Modified: Thursday, December 13, 2012, 2:02pm HST

The Hawaii Community Development Authority on Thursday voted unanimously to select Forest City Hawaii to develop the $500 million 690 Pohukaina mixed-use project in Honolulu, which would include 800 affordable rental housing units. The nine-member board said it chose Forest City Hawaii’s plan because it presented less of a financial risk to the state by keeping the units as workforce rentals instead of selling them as condominiums, which is what the other finalist, Lend Lease, had proposed.

Additionally, the board said Forest City Hawaii — which has built or renovated thousands of military housing units at Navy and Marine Corps bases in Hawaii under a public-private partnership with the Defense Department — has the experience to develop the project. Lend Lease has a similar contract with the Pentagon for military housing at Hawaii’s Army and Air Force bases.

Jon Wallenstrom, president of Forest City Hawaii, says that rental housing does tend to de-risk things a bit because it is an institutional owner, which is able to finance things and do things differently. “We are very excited to bring [more] rental housing to Hawaii,” said Wallenstrom. “What clinched it for us, perhaps, was the need for rental housing in Hawaii.”

The project, which will be built on state land in Kakaako under a 65-year ground lease, may include Hawaii’s tallest building at 650 feet. The current height limit in Honolulu is 400 feet.

[...]

[billfranklin]

650 feet. Isn't that how tall Diamond Head is?

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by billfranklin

650 feet. Isn't that how tall Diamond Head is?

According to Wkipedia, Diamond Head is 762 ft. high. Maybe they could raise the height limits in Honolulu another 100 feet...?

[jam5]

This is from late December, but apparently no one has posted it yet:

Federal judge gives Honolulu green light to proceed with rail mass-transit project

Mark Abramson
Dec 27, 2012, 1:02pm HST
UPDATED: Dec 27, 2012, 1:56pm HST

U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima has given the City and County of Honolulu and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation everything short of a total victory in the federal lawsuit brought by former Gov. Ben Cayetano and others in an effort to stop Oahu’s $5.16 billion elevated-rail mass-transit project.

Instead of putting the brakes on rail, Tashima, in a four-page ruling issued Thursday, said that HART could proceed with construction on most of the rail project’s route. The only area where construction remains prohibited is in what is known as phase four, which is the stretch that extends to Ala Moana Center. The exact length of that phase was not immediately known.

Before construction can begin in that area, HART has to get approval from the Federal Transit Administration showing it is in compliance — meaning it has resolved the issues ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor back in November. Such resolution will require further study of the project’s impact on Mother Waldron park in Kakaako, the feasibility of a Beretania Street tunnel and identification of culturally sensitive properties.

Even before those issues are resolved, other activities, including engineering, design and other pre-construction work, may resume throughout the 20-mile path of the project, according to Tashima’s ruling.

HART will be required to issue a status report on its compliance efforts every 90 days.

[desertpunk]

HPU in dispute over remake of Aloha Tower

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/nos...go/2854227630/

Hawaii Pacific University’s attempt to proceed with a $32 million makeover of Aloha Tower Marketplace with a blend of retail, student housing and school facilities remains in limbo after a state agency deferred action today on recognizing the university as the project developer.

HPU needs approval from the Aloha Tower Development Corp. to assume management and redevelopment control of the 165,000-square-foot open-air retail center fronting Honolulu Harbor from a private developer that started the project about a year ago.

But the developer, Hawaii Lifestyle Retail Properties LLC led by Ed Bushor, is attempting to retain control of the project and has alleged that HPU, his financing partner, stole control from him.

The dispute between Bushor’s company and the university is in arbitration. Aloha Tower Development Corp., a state agency that owns the land under the marketplace, deferred action on a request by HPU to recognize it as the owner and developer of the project.

HPU said its plan is not substantially different from what Bushor initially proposed. Under HPU’s plan, the marketplace plagued by high vacancy would get a new name, possibly Tower District, as well as new retailers and restaurants, dorms for 320 students and a sports and entertainment complex. Dorms would be created from the mall’s mostly vacant second-story space. The ground floor would keep its retail focus but also include some classroom space and HPU’s business school.

A sports and entertainment complex, dubbed the Aloha Cultural Theater, would have a spectator capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 indoors and potentially 4,000 using an outside promenade. The facility would feature a basketball court for the university and also serve as a venue for concerts, performing arts and other local community events. The former Hawaii Maritime Center at Pier 7 would be converted to an HPU faculty club and alumni center. A new parking lot at piers 5 and 6 is also part of the plan.

[...]

[desertpunk]

Ritz-Carlton puts brand on property in Waikiki


http://www.hawaiilife.com/articles/2...rlton-waikiki/

The hotel-condominium tower will be the luxury accommodations operator's first presence on Oahu
Dec 20, 2012

Ritz-Carlton has hooked up with a developer to manage a planned Waikiki condominium-hotel tower that will give the luxury hotel operator its first presence on Oahu.

Los Angeles-based developer Pacrep LLC announced that its $275 million tower formerly known as 2121 Kuhio will be branded as The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach.

Pacrep expects sales of the tower's 459 hotel units to investors will begin early next year followed by construction toward the end of the year if permitting approvals are obtained without delay. Completion of the 37-story tower would occur in early 2016, based on the projected timetable.

The management agreement will give The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. its second presence in Hawaii. The company operates a hotel and residential suites in Kapalua, Maui.

Jason Grosfeld, a principal with Pacrep who helped develop another Waikiki condo-hotel, the Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk, said the addition of a new luxury hotel brand in the market will benefit Hawaii's most-visited tourist destination.

"The Residences will further secure Waikiki's position as a world-class destination providing full- and part-time residents, as well as visitors, with all the legendary services and amenities they have come to expect of The Ritz-Carlton brand," he said in a statement.

Tim Grisius, a Ritz-Carlton senior vice president, said the company looks forward to entering an iconic market with an exciting project.

[...]

[desertpunk]

801 South St.

801 South St is a residential condominium project planned for the corner of South and Kawaiahao Streets on the site adjoining the News Building on Kapiolani Boulevard. All 635 units will be fee simple. The 46-story tower will include a residential unit mix of:

•90 - Studios
•271 - One bedroom, one bath
•46 - Two bedroom, one bath
•45 - Two bedroom, one and 1/2 baths
•183 - Two bedroom, two baths

The project will also include an 11 story parking garage that will provide 915 parking stalls including 30 guest parking stalls.

http://801southst.com/



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