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Old Posted May 28, 2005, 6:11 PM
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Urbanguy Urbanguy is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Portland | Honolulu
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Hello, long time no see people here are some updates for Honolulu!

Kaka'ako is on the rise!

Here's a map of Existing and planned Kaka'ako residential projects


Sanford Zalburg gets a great view of Kaka'ako and its changing face from the lanai of his condo at Pi'ikoi Street and Ala Moana. The neighborhood is undergoing a residential building boom that is transforming the light industrial area into a desirable urban village.


Arshad Khan didn't hesitate when someone asked the best reason to live in Kaka'ako.

The location is excellent, he said. "It's close to Waikiki, downtown, everywhere."

Khan, a 34-year-old real estate office worker who has lived in a Kaka'ako rental apartment for the past six years, is just one of thousands of people in the past few years who have traded the traditional dream of a yard and home in the suburbs for a place in town.

And there's going to be a lot more of them as the area continues to be transformed from a rundown light industrial tract to a highly desirable urban village.

City planners predict that Kaka'ako will be one of the fastest-growing residential areas on O'ahu over the next 25 years, with more than 25,000 people moving in, increasing the population by 178 percent, behind only several residential areas between 'Ewa Beach and Ko Olina.

Residential development was always part of the vision for Kaka'ako, long before people started talking about smart growth or the new urbanism, said Daniel Dinell, executive director of the Hawai'i Community Development Agency, which supervises the area's development.

Now, you're finally starting to see the manifestation of that vision, Dinell said. "The several hundred million dollars invested in the infrastructure is starting to pay off."

Almost a dozen residential projects, including rental units, urban lofts and $1 million-plus condos are being built or are on the drawing boards for the area, which for decades languished while communities on its flanks, Ala Moana, Waikiki and downtown Honolulu, flourished.

Luxury living in town


The Ko'olani luxury condominium complex, at right, is among the dozen or so residential projects under construction in Kaka'ako.



Much of the current movement is driven by Mainland investors or older Hawai'i residents eager to move back into town after years of fighting traffic and other problems in the suburbs.

Eighty percent of our buyers are local empty-nesters, said Larry Fukunaga, the owner's representative for 909 Kapi'olani, a high-rise project set to start construction this year on the corner of Kapi'olani Boulevard and Ward Avenue.

Most are older residents able to parlay soaring equity in their homes and low interest rates into a suddenly affordable luxurious condominium closer to everything.

These are people who are established and have some money. They want something more comfortable, more convenient and easier to take care of than what they have now, Fukunaga said.

Others worry that the building boom is leaving behind young professional buyers, the same ones who have traditionally driven the return-to-the-city-living trend across the Mainland.

I'd love to be able to live in Kaka'ako, but I can't afford it, said Kelly Irvine, a 28-year-old architect who shares a home in 'Aina Haina.

Most people my age who work in town want to live close by, even if it means living in a smaller apartment. They don't want to spend all their time in a car. Kaka'ako is a great place because it's right next to the theaters, the bars, the beach and the jobs. But the market right now is out of our price range, Irvine said.

Place of potential

Small shops, mostly specializing in auto repair, still do business in Kaka'ako, in the shadow of the luxury high-rises going up in the area near Ala Moana.


Kaka'ako has always been a place of potential.

Originally swamp land that was often covered with water at high tide, Kaka'ako was filled in and reclaimed in the 1880s to make way for new residences close to a growing downtown Honolulu.

Through the first half of the 1900s, it was a dynamic, growing, multi-racial residential community that included Hawaiian, Japanese, Portuguese, Caucasian, Chinese and Filipino families living in ethnic camps ranging in size from a few homes to several blocks.

Much as planners today anticipate Kaka'ako becoming a one-stop place to live, shop, work and entertain, the area 75 years ago was seen as something of a gathering place for sports, church groups, bon dances and other cultural activities.

About 1945, though, the area went into a long, steady decline, with more and more people moving to the suburbs, Dinell said.

By the 1970s, most of the residents were gone and the area took on a run-down, low-grade industrial look that contrasted sharply with the growth going on in all directions. That's when the state stepped in, creating the HCDA and giving the agency wide authority to plan and develop a new Kaka'ako, first by putting in hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements to area sewers, streets and other infrastructure.

After several false starts, the plan finally seems to be working.

Over the years there were a lot of announcements of plans that never came to fruition, said John Breinich, who moved into the area in 1991 and is head of the Ala Moana-Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board. "Now, it seems like all at once things are finally happening. It's nice to be in a community that has life and growth and expansion."

Many observers credit the latest residential growth to development of commercial and other projects in the makai part of the district. Those include the new campus of the University of Hawai'i medical school, a new cancer research center and a planned waterfront complex fronting Kewalo Basin.

Most of us thought the area would be developed a lot sooner than this, said Fukunaga, whose first job out of college was an HCDA planner in 1979. "It took 25 years, but at last, the makai district is reaching a critical mass and the residential projects are starting to pop up on the mauka side."

Not quite like home

An empty lot at Kapi'olani Boulevard and Ward Avenue soon will be home to 909 Kapiolani, a mixed-use high-rise development.


With the boom, though, some planners worry that the area's design controls will be lessened in a rush to develop, sacrificing a pedestrian-friendly feel for wider roads, and sacrificing more affordable housing for quick profits.

A lot of us with children like the idea that they could live in the city and enjoy it as much as we do, said Loren Matsunaga, a principal with the architecture firm Urban Works, which has had its offices in Kaka'ako for more than 20 years. "But right now it isn't affordable."

There are also fears that the area will lack a cohesive and pedestrian-friendly design as separate areas are built up in spurts by different landowners and more and more cars fill the area without more public transportation.

Dinell said HCDA has done a good job of encouraging diversity and design.

There's a perception that it's only about luxury high-rises, but that's not the case, he said. "Over the years about 30 percent of the units have been reserved for rentals or affordable sales. There are a lot of silent buildings scattered through the area."

The agency also has insisted that pedestrian-friendly design elements be incorporated into both public and private projects.

You can see it in the infrastructure. We've got very generous sidewalks, big shade trees and street-front designs that encourage activity, he said.

With increasing population, new problems are cropping up.

Noise and congestion are on the rise and Kaka'ako still lacks a supermarket of its own (not counting the old-time Hamada Store on Queen Street) and a traditional public elementary school (there are several private schools and a public charter school) within its district borders.

Those are going to come, Dinell said. "There's a recognition that a school will be necessary at some point in the future, though it may not look like a traditional suburban school with a parking lot and playing field."

All of that development, though, is proving attractive to residents able to afford the luxury condos being built or fortunate enough to find an affordable residence in the area.

It's noisy as hell sometimes, but I wouldn't think of going anywhere else, said 88-year-old

Sanford Zalburg, who bought a unit in the area's first high-rise building, 1350 Ala Moana, 33 years ago and hasn't left.

We're lucky we found an affordable place. Otherwise, no way, added Russell Sunabe, a 50-year-old community college teacher who lives in a two-bedroom condo on Waimanu Street with his wife and two children.

We like the location and really feel comfortable here. Sometimes, I still wish I had a big home or a yard, but I'm not willing to live in Kapolei or 'Ewa to do that, he said.




Zoning change sought for 'A'ala condos

A Mainland developer wants to build a 22-story condominium tower on North Beretania Street across from 'A'ala Park, but needs a zoning change to move forward with what would be the third new residential development in the area.



Developer 3D Investments LLC is asking the city to rezone two adjacent properties at 230 and 254 N. Beretania St. from B-2 community business district to BMX-3 community mixed use district. Consultant Keith Kurahashi, who will give a presentation on the project tonight at the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board, said the change would allow for a mixed commercial and condo project.

The zone change is needed so they can put in a mixed use development, Kurahashi said. "Right now they would be allowed to build an office building or something like that and they want that residential component."

The property stretches from College Walk to 'A'ala Street along Beretania Street. A two-story commercial building called the Town Square is now on the property and would be torn down. The square is home to several small businesses, including the offices of the Hawai'i Lupus Foundation and the Honolulu Weekly newspaper. The former Kobayashi Hotel, now closed, is in a separate four-story building on the property. It would also come down.

The condo project would have businesses on the ground floor with 204 one- two- and three-bedroom fee-simple units on 21 floors, Kurahashi said.

The developer is required to go before the neighborhood board with the project before a zoning change application is filed, he said. The project also needs approvals from the city Planning Commission and the City Council.

Kurahashi said there is no timeline for construction or estimated cost yet.

Chad Hiyakumoto, who owns 'A'ala Park Boardshop on nearby College Walk, would be forced out of his moderately priced retail space. Being close to the park and his skateboarding customers is critical to his business.

I'd like to still be able to have a shop somewhere near there, Hiyakumoto said. "It would kind of suck if I just got kicked out and didn't have any place of business anymore."

Another residential condo project is being built by a group called Downtown Affordables on North King Street on the makai side of 'A'ala Park.

Vito Galati, a partner in Downtown Affordables, said the 23-story, 251-unit affordable condominium project called 215 N. King St. is sold out. He said the building will be topped off next month and tenants will move in by December.

Galati said the location near downtown and the tight real-estate market makes building residential condos a perfect fit for the 'A'ala area.

I think people are interested in being in town and having all of the amenities that town has and avoiding the long commutes and time in your car, Galati said. "For people who work in town, to be able to have a five-minute walk to work and back home is saving hours every day."

The third project is a $35 million, 13-story affordable housing residence for seniors near the historic O'ahu Railway & Land Terminal building financed through the state Housing and Community Development Corp. and being developed by Pacific Housing Assistance Corp.

For years 'A'ala was a dangerous, rundown area until the city completed a $2.3 million park renovation project in 2003. There are still homeless people that live in the park and drug dealers lurking in the area, but with new basketball courts, a skateboard rink, playground equipment and a general cleanup, the park is much more family friendly.

Galati said with hundreds of new units being built near the park and families moving in, the area will only get better.

With three projects and a couple thousand new residents that have pride of ownership and are committed to their community, it has to have a big impact, he said. "'A'ala has been a transition area for a long time, and I think we are going to see it stabilize into a nice residential community."


Here are some other future developments for the Honoulu area:

Downtown Block J units sell quickly
Capitol Place year 2007 @ 39 stories

Construction of Capitol Place on the downtown lot known as Block J is to begin by the end of the year and be completed late in 2007.


The attraction of living on the edge of downtown Honolulu drew hundreds of people to buy nearly all the units in the latest planned high-rise condominium to hit the Hawai'i market.

In just under a week, buyers snapped up about 350 of the 394 units at Capitol Place for an average price of nearly $660,000. The 39-story tower is planned for the site of a former municipal parking lot known as Block J, at Queen Emma and Beretania streets.

Capitol Place sales occurred in a flurry mostly May 7, when the on-site sales office opened to a crowd estimated at 400. Buyers this week continued to whittle away remaining inventory to about 40 units as of yesterday.

The response was a reminder of just how strong Hawai'i's real estate market continues to be, with demand from well-heeled investors as well as homeowners able to trade up because of accelerating home values and low interest rates.

It's amazing, said Jodee Farm, a Prudential Locations agent representing a buyer considering a Capitol Place unit yesterday. "The appeal is that it's brand new, the market is hot and everybody wants something."

Mark Mord bought a $1 million penthouse yesterday with the intent to move from his townhome at Ko Olina Resort & Marina when the high-rise is completed in about two years.

I wanted to get closer to town, he said. "The commute is just too much. Some days it turns into an hour and a half."

Mord, who is in the commercial real estate financing business and plans to sell a Mainland property he owns to help finance his Capitol Place unit, also said Honolulu's central business district has much more in the way of shopping, dining and entertainment compared with West O'ahu. "There's just not a lot going on out there right now," he said.

Dave Stoesser, a Mililani Mauka resident working for a distribution company, said he avoids messy Central O'ahu traffic but likes the appeal of having the amenities of a high-rise condo.

Condo living is different, he said while checking out Capitol Place offerings. "It's all-around convenient. It's almost like hotel living."

Capitol Place is designed with a dog park, media and music rooms, playground, pool, jacuzzi, gym, cabanas with barbecues and a yoga/Pilates studio. Monthly maintenance fees range from about $300 to $700.

The ground floor of the building is designated to be a Honda showroom for Pflueger Group, which bought the land from the city last year for $10.5 million and partnered with The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group LLC to develop the building.

There also will be 150 public parking stalls at municipal rates, which was part of Pflueger's agreement with the city.

If the project sells out at current prices, condo-unit proceeds would total about $260 million. A development cost estimate was not available.

Late last year, unit prices were estimated to start in the high-$200,000 range, but fast-rising home values led the developer to start sales at $345,000. The price for 1-bedroom units go as high as about $450,000. Two-bedroom units range from $430,000 to about $800,000. Three-bedroom units started at $675,000 and top out at about $1.1 million.

Because of the anticipated response, the developer placed all the units for sale at once as opposed to selling in phases, which other high-rise condo developers have done.

The way it was this (past) weekend, there are a lot of people ready and willing to move downtown, said Donald "Matt" Pakkala, a Capitol Place sales agent.

Remaining units are reserved for owner-occupant buyers who must affirm they plan to live in the unit for at least one year.

Construction is scheduled to start by the end of the year and be completed toward the end of 2007.


For More info visit: Capitol Place


Kapolei Parkway Shops



PF Changs Bistro @ street level of the U/C 418 ft Hokua Tower




Outrigger opts for luxury condos

Hawai'i's red-hot housing market has led Outrigger Enterprises to eliminate hotel rooms from a planned tower at its Lewers Street redevelopment project, instead dedicating the new Waikiki high-rise to luxury residences.



The estimated $200 million tower that Outrigger originally envisioned as an 890-room hotel probably will be built as 300 to 400 fee-simple condominiums with parking, according to the latest version of the company's Waikiki Beach Walk project.

Outrigger said it is negotiating with a shortlist of condo developers, most of them from the Mainland, to help build the tower, and expects to make a selection within 30 days.

Condo prices have yet to be set, but would likely be more than $1 million for the best units.

It is the second major change for the planned 350-foot tower on Saratoga Road fronting Fort DeRussy, and would reduce the number of hotel rooms in Wai-

kiki while creating luxury residences in an area typically populated with tourists. Outrigger will demolish two hotels with 210 rooms to make way for the tower.

Tourist district losing rooms

Outrigger's planned Beachwalk high-rise:

Original plan — 890 hotel rooms

Latest plan — 300 to 400 luxury condos

Estimated cost — $200 million

Projected construction start — first half of 2006


The tower is one component of Outrigger's $460 million redevelopment of several old hotels along Lewers Street, Saratoga Road and Kalia Road.

Construction recently began on some components of the project, which includes a retail and entertainment complex, conversion of two hotel towers to time-share use and upgrades of two hotels under the Embassy Suites brand.

The concept for the new high-rise was revised more than a year ago with the expectation that units would be a mix of mostly residential condos, condos for hotel use, some hotel units and possibly time-share.

But the dramatic run-up in home prices and demand for luxury condos over the last year or so made a completely residential tower easier and less risky to finance, said David Carey, Outrigger president and CEO.

Carey said the recent failure of a bill in the Legislature to extend and increase a hotel redevelopment tax credit expiring this year was a factor in planning the tower. However, even had the bill passed, building a hotel would not have been as financially attractive as a condo, he said.

I think the destination would be better served by a high-rise hotel, Carey said, adding that economic realities are dictating otherwise.

Outrigger is not identifying potential development partners. Construction could start in the first half of next year. If condos are to be built, sales could begin sooner.




Robertson Properties Group, the real estate arm of the Los Angeles multiplex theater company Pacific Theatres Corp., will begin construction on a new two-story retail complex at the site of the old Waikiki 3 Theatre this spring. The new 30,000 square-foot, $10 million complex, called The Center of Waikiki, will include a Whaler’s Market, Foot Locker, California Pizza Kitchen and a steak and seafood restaurant. According to Robertson Properties Group Vice President Greg Swedelson, the property “has an unparalleled customer base, with foot traffic on Kalakaua exceeding 25,000 people per day.”

The Center was designed by Architects Hawaii Ltd., which also designed The Shops at Wailea on Maui. The building will retain its illuminated Waikiki sign, to be refurbished during construction. The general contractor is Pankow Companies. Construction will begin soon, and the project is expected to be complete by spring 2006.


Trump plans to build in Waikiki



One of the biggest names in real estate and reality television, Donald J. Trump, plans to put his mark on Waikiki as a development partner for a luxury condominium tower of Outrigger Enterprises.

The billionaire businessman plans to erect a signature building that could define a new level of luxury for high-rise living in Hawai'i where home prices have soared to staggering levels over the past year.

The ever-innovative New York developer has arranged to buy land at the makai end of Saratoga Road from Outrigger and to build the proposed 350-foot tower with Beverly Hills, Calif.-based investment and development firm Irongate Capital Partners, according to people familiar with the deal.

The tower is expected to cost around $200 million, have 300 to 400 residential units and be branded with the Trump Tower name or something similar reflecting the cachet of the real estate mogul and star of NBC's hit show "The Apprentice."

Outrigger has yet to finalize a contract for the project, so the tentative deal could fall apart. If final terms can be reached, completion of the transaction is expected in July.

Mel Kaneshige, Outrigger senior vice president, declined to say if Trump is involved in the high-rise project.

Outrigger, which conceived the tower as part of its $460 million Waikiki Beach Walk redevelopment of several old hotels mainly along Lewers Street, said earlier this week that it was negotiating with a shortlist of developers and expected to make a decision in about 30 days.

Kaneshige would not say if a tentative selection had been made. "We narrowed the field," he said, adding that the company's policy is not to announce deals until they are firm.

Trump was not available for comment yesterday, but his assistant, Norma Foerderer, said she was not aware of such a deal with Outrigger.

A representative of Irongate could not be reached yesterday.

Two people familiar with Outrigger's effort to find a developer for its high-rise confirmed Trump's role, but asked not to be identified to preserve good business relationships with involved parties.

If Trump and Irongate complete their deal with Outrigger, it could bring a new level of luxury to high-rise living in Hawai'i.

Trump is known for pushing the limit on opulence, setting a record last year for New York condo sale prices at about $3,000 a square foot with a $13 million penthouse deal at Trump Park Avenue.

I think he will bring some flare and excitement to the market, said Mary Worrall, owner of the local upscale residential real-estate brokerage firm Mary Worrall Associates. "He has such a following. I think it's very exciting."

A Trump tower would be the first big real-estate project in Hawai'i for the New York deal maker who persuaded the state to host the 1998 Miss Universe Pageant. The state and businesses contributed more than $5.3 million in money and services to Trump and the pageant organizers in return for repeated mentions and photographs of Hawai'i in the telecast.

Trump has developed a handful of luxury residential projects from the 90-story Trump World Tower, billed as the tallest residential tower in the world, to the $5 billion commercial-residential Trump Place under development with an initial planned phase of 5,700 residential units.

In January, Trump announced plans for a $220 million "ultra-luxury" condo in Tampa, Fla.

We are developing a signature landmark property so spectacular that it will redefine both Tampa's skyline and the market's expectations of luxurious condominium living, he said in a statement.

Unit prices at Trump Tower Tampa with hotel-like services, spa and fine art range from $700,000 to more than $5.5 million.

Hawai'i's housing boom over the past couple of years has demonstrated strong demand for such residences as Hokua, the nearly sold-out high-rise overlooking Ala Moana Beach Park where prices initially ranged from $550,000 to $5.5 million.

Outrigger cited the run-up in home prices and sales volume in helping to convince the company to develop its new tower as a residential condo instead of the originally envisioned hotel.

Worrall said Hokua, which is still under construction, reset the bar for luxury high-rise condos in the market, and that a Trump tower could build on that.

He's got his name on so many buildings in New York, and they all seem to be so successful, she said.

Trump in recent years has increasingly expanded outside New York.

Trump partner Irongate entered the Hawai'i market a year ago with a purchase of three acres in Waikiki's Hobron Lane area from Outrigger. Irongate sought approvals to build an upscale condo high-rise expected to break ground in June.

Outrigger has said construction of the envisioned Beach Walk tower — which will replace the Ohana Royal Islander hotel, Ohana Reef Lanai hotel and Hale Pua Nui apartments — could start in the first half of next year.
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