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  #141  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2006, 9:12 PM
kazpmk kazpmk is offline
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Urbanguy,I noticed you have The Grand Waikikian (38 stories) listed as UC. Has foundation work begun?
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  #142  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2006, 11:51 PM
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^Actually, it officially broke ground on the 16th of June. So it's still at the earliest stage but forging ahead as planned. Someone in Honolulu told me that he saw cranes and work going on, on the site and that one of the other Hilton projects is under construction too but i haven't heard back from him on which one it was?
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  #143  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2006, 1:05 AM
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Another Update, this specific to Chinatown:

City to build housing complex in Chinatown

The city plans to partner with a private developer to build a transitional or affordable housing complex in Chinatown, Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced today.

Hannemann told about 300 attendees at a Chinatown Summit at the Hawaii Theatre that relieving the neighborhood homeless problems is a key priority.

The complex would be at the corner of River and Beretania, which would displace retail stores.
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  #144  
Old Posted Jun 26, 2006, 4:37 AM
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Ilikai tower gets ready to rock 'n roll following hotel's sale

The Hard Rock Hotel, a hotel chain with a rock-and-roll theme, plans to open its first Hawaii property.

The Yacht Harbor tower of the Ilikai hotel is expected to be flagged as a Hard Rock property after a pending sale is completed next month.

Brian Anderson of Anekona Islander, who is negotiating to buy 703 rooms of the hotel, reportedly is talking to eRealty Companies, a San Diego-based real estate investment fund, about partnering on the deal. Renaissance, the Marriott brand under which the property currently operates, will not remain after the sale and the new owners are talking with Hard Rock to take over management.

The Hard Rock is expected to bring much-needed traffic and pizzazz to the Waikiki landmark, one of the island's first high-rise hotels. The Y-shaped building was developed by the legendary Chinn Ho.

The current owner of the condominium-hotel is Forward One, a California-based firm allied with the Zen family of Taiwan. It previously was operated as a Japan Airlines' Nikko Hotel and still relies on business from Japan Airlines' flight crews.

The eRealty Fund, a San Diego investment firm that specializes in buying, renovating and selling undervalued properties, has shown an interest in the Ilikai, according to sources close to the deal.

Recently, eRealty acquired and transformed the Ohana Waikiki Surf and the Ohana Waikiki Surf East hotels into the Wyland Waikiki, a boutique hotel on Kuhio Avenue. The Wyland Waikiki is expected to open in a couple of months.

None of the parties involved with the Ilikai deal would comment until the sale goes through.

Anekona did sign an agreement with UNITE HERE Local 5 to take over the labor contract of 400 employees.
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  #145  
Old Posted Jun 26, 2006, 2:47 PM
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Here's another update:

Condo project splits Waipahu


Source: Honolulu Advertiser



WAIPAHU — Sandwiched between a neighborhood's concerns about a proposed development and a Waipahu native's willingness to take on a project on challenging terrain is the pressing need for affordable housing on O'ahu.

Homeowners from Mokuola, Nali'i and Paiwa streets near Waipahu District Park who oppose the proposed Plantation Town Apartments development, which will offer 330 affordable units in two 12-story buildings to first-time buyers, say traffic and problems in the area will only get worse with the additional residents.

Also, by allowing the buildings to rise 105 feet above ground, exceeding the 60-foot height limit for medium-density apartments in the Central O'ahu Sustainable Communities Plan, some homeowners say they'll be forced to live in the shadow of the buildings.

Developer Michael Kimura, born and raised in Waipahu's plantation camp, is president of CMKLV Inc. and the overall managing partner of Plantation Town Apartments LLC. Active in Hawai'i's building industry since 1972, Kimura has developed about three dozen projects in Hawai'i and his most recent developments include the Waipahu Adult Day Health Center, the 446-unit Pawa'a condominiums at 1448 and 1450 Young St., and the 282-unit condominium at 1133 Waimanu St.

Plantation Town Apartments will be built on 2.8 acres of property that Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i officials say is the state's last two parcels of nonceded residential land on O'ahu. Due to poor soil conditions, Kimura was only one of two developers willing to submit a proposal to do the project.

"I'm familiar with the land, I played in the area growing up, I know the problems with the ground so it's not like I'm going in blind," Kimura said. "I'm not afraid of it, and I know I can do it.

"When you talk about the foundation, everybody cringes because this used to be rice fields and taro patches. The so-called rock layer, the good layer, is pretty far down so our piles will go down 40 to 60 feet. That's one of the reasons we had to go to a higher building than I would like. To get money out of it so you can keep the prices down, you have to go higher."

For the state, the goal is to have as many affordable units on the site as possible. According to Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i records, Kimura's proposal called for 96 more units than the other received. Estimated cost of the development is $61.8 million.

Like many of his neighbors, Nali'i Street resident Richard Costa is not opposed to affordable housing, but he believes the size of this project is a burden to his neighborhood.

Costa pointed out that on a good morning when there are no accidents, it takes him 15 to 20 minutes just to drive a couple of blocks from his home to Farrington Highway. Costa believes it can only get worse with at least 330 more cars.

He's also concerned that the housing project allows for only 386 parking stalls for resident use and with the height of the buildings.

"They're figuring one stall per unit but most households have two to three cars, and that's conservative for Waipahu," Costa said. "On regular days now on Nali'i Street, we have people living two or three blocks away parking here."

Costa's house will be only 50 feet away from one of the buildings. "I'm losing half the view of the whole sky from my house," Costa said. "What's the sense of having zoning laws if you can change the laws to suit the needs of something else?"

Costa's name is on a petition that has about 900 signatures of people opposed to the project, which only needs City Council approval for 201G exemptions (zoning, permitting, height, density, parking and tax) normally granted to affordable housing developments to proceed. The council's zoning committee has a hearing scheduled July 5.

"They just going to shove this down our throats," said Masa Uyeda, a Nali'i Street resident who started the petition drive. Uyeda is not against affordable housing but believes the project should be two-story buildings rather than 12-story buildings. He's also concerned about noise from the pneumatic pile driving that will occur.

The developer, however, also has compiled a list with an equal number of people's names who want the project.

Colleen Gantala, who lives in Waipahu with her in-laws, said she and her husband, Alan, have been trying to buy a home in Hawai'i since 1993. A move to the Mainland in 2000 drained their savings and they returned in 2003 to try again. Plantation Town Apartments is appealing, she says.

"We want something that's secured and safe but everything is $500,000 to $600,000," Gantala said. "It's just too high. Our price range is less than $200,000. We know Waipahu and how things are here so this would be OK for us.

"I know people living around there think we're invading their space but times are changing. They need to give others a chance to have a better life."

The big money is in developing luxury condominiums but Kimura says building affordable housing gives him more satisfaction.

"Because I was born and raised on a plantation, I feel for the people just starting out," said Kimura, whose partner in the project is Franklin Tokioka of Island-Waipahu LLC. "I look at myself like a dinosaur because I think old-time builders were more like I am. They were concerned about working people, trying to create housing and making a living doing it.

"The gap between the so-called market prices and affordables is becoming too wide. I'm worried people are going to be left behind too far and will lose their drive, their interest to better themselves."

PLANTATION TOWN APARTMENTS

What: Gated, affordable fee-simple housing project

Where: Waipahu

Developer: Michael Kimura (overall managing partner), Franklin Tokioka

Size, prices: Total of 330 units in two 12-story buildings, prices ranging from about $139,000 to $298,000, based on median income levels

Units: 48 junior one-bedrooms; 92 one-bedrooms; 146 two-bedrooms; 44 three-bedrooms

Project cost: $61.8 million

Features: 30,775 square feet for private park; 3,000 square feet for recreation/meeting room; tot lot; picnic area

Parking: 386 uncovered stalls for residents on four acres

Entrances: Two on Paiwa Street, two on Kau'olu Place

Developing agreement: Developer will pay Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i 15 percent of the net proceeds (about $1.5 million) for the fee-simple land under the condominium towers. Four acres for a parking lot will be leased from HCDCH for $1 per year, allowing the state to add additional units to the project in the future when "advanced construction techniques will enable a feasible development to be built on areas not suitable for development today." At the time, a multilevel parking garage can be built to replace existing parking.

Construction schedule: Pending City Council approval of 201G exemptions in July: Groundbreaking late August, completion December 2007 or January 2008

Gated? f&*^! that's just stupid. I also think all that parking is just a waste of land, there's got to be a better way to accomodate vehicles without using up so much land for surface parking.
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  #146  
Old Posted Jul 7, 2006, 6:09 AM
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Unfortunately, there's another set back to the project but i really like the proposal for this project to have an urban-like univeristy village and central plaza. I hope that this project will get the funding necessary to get things rolling, it makes sense and looks good IMO.

UH-West O'ahu left without funds again

Source: Honolulu Advertiser

Rendering



Bad News so far:

Maeda Timson remembers testifying before the state Legislature in support of a University of Hawai'i campus in West O'ahu when her daughter was 7 years old. Her daughter is now 27, and still there's no campus.

"I'm not trying to get (UH-West O'ahu) for my daughter anymore. I'm fighting for it for my grandchildren," said Timson, chairwoman of the Makakilo/Kapolei Neighborhood Board.

Plans for a UH-West O'ahu campus, which have been decades in the making, were stalled again this past legislative session when $33.5 million in bond money proposed by Gov. Linda Lingle was not included by lawmakers in the state budget.

"We've been talking about this for over 20 years. Finally we have a partner that wants to work with us, we have all the stars aligned, Board of Regents is fully supportive and on board, and then for some reason it didn't get funded," said Kitty Lagareta, chairwoman of the UH Board of Regents.

"It was a huge blow," said Gene Awakuni, chancellor of UH-West O'ahu. "We were really counting on that money to get us started."

Despite the setback, university officials, legislators and residents say they are still committed to construction of the four-year campus. However, they say the next legislative session is critical to keeping the project on track to be finished by 2009.

The project originally was slated to be completed in late 2008, Awakuni said. But legislative session after legislative session of setbacks have made 2009 the more "realistic" deadline, he said.

Fortunately, Awakuni said, UH-West O'ahu still has about $4 million of $8.5 million in planning money appropriated in 2003. That is enough to continue with an environmental impact study, pursue Land Use Commission approval and conduct some long-range planning.

"We can't get much further than that unless we get some help from the Legislature," he said.

UH-West O'ahu presently holds classes on the Leeward Community College campus. But advocates say a stand-alone, four-year West O'ahu campus is needed to accommodate booming growth in the area.

Phase I of UH-West O'ahu will include the construction of four buildings on the 500-acre Kapolei site and is expected to accommodate 1,520 students. Total cost of the infrastructure and buildings is expected to be about $150 million. No date has been set for completing the other phases.

In addition to state money, a private contractor is expected to help build the West O'ahu campus in exchange for development rights on up to 200 acres of the 500-acre site owned by the state, Awakuni said. Most of the noncampus land will be used for homes, he said, but that deal has yet to be finalized.

Awakuni said the developer, Hunt Building Co. Ltd., is limited in the amount of cash it can contribute to the project, so money from the Legislature is "absolutely critical."

Lawmakers say they are committed to UH-West O'ahu but cannot be solely responsible for its future.

Rep. Mark Moses, R-40th (Makakilo, Kapolei, Royal Kunia), said "internal politics" is the reason UH-West O'ahu did not receive its funding. He said other UH campuses were each attempting to get their piece of the pie and in the end left West O'ahu with nothing.

But he said he is certain UH-West O'ahu will get the money it needs eventually.

Sen. Clayton Hee said the Senate's Higher Education Committee had set aside money for UH-West O'ahu, but since the state House did not do the same, West O'ahu came up empty.

But Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), said that while the Legislature is committed to providing money to develop a West O'ahu campus, the UH system also needs to provide its own money for the project.

"It seems to me that West O'ahu for the most part has always been thought of as a stepchild," he said.

Hee said the university has to be willing to set aside money from the anticipated $26 million in additional revenue from a tuition increase that begins in the fall.

"It's a little weak to suggest that all the burden should be on the Legislature's shoulders," he said. "The university does not need to wait for the 2007 Legislature if West O'ahu is truly a priority."

University officials say they are absolutely committed to making sure UH-West O'ahu becomes a reality but they need help from the Legislature.

Lagareta said while she is disappointed that West O'ahu did not receive the anticipated funding, the university will move forward on the plans.

"We've been assured that the parts that (the university) needs to do between now and next legislative session, they can do," Lagareta said.

However, she said, if the Legislature again does not fund West O'ahu next session, it could suffer further delays.

Timson said UH-West O'ahu is critical to the future of education on the Leeward Coast and the rest of the state. She expects to lobby on behalf of the campus again next session but right now she said she is left feeling like "we're not being cared about."

"It really affects the youth more than anyone," she said. "Why shouldn't we have a university out here — a building to give kids some hope, something to aspire to?"
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  #147  
Old Posted Jul 7, 2006, 7:28 AM
jzt83 jzt83 is offline
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The current UH West Oahu is quite a shame. It's just a handful of portables. I think it is waaaaaaay long over due for the leeward side to have a 4-yr uni.
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  #148  
Old Posted Jul 7, 2006, 7:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Urbanguy


Gated? f&*^! that's just stupid. I also think all that parking is just a waste of land, there's got to be a better way to accomodate vehicles without using up so much land for surface parking.
Couldn't agree more. Looks so incredably(sp?) much like your average European low-income housing from the 60s + even larger surface parking than they've got. Nothing good can come of it.
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  #149  
Old Posted Jul 14, 2006, 12:37 AM
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^Yeah its just a big waste

jzt83, I agree and i hope that they can get some sort of funding next year before this great proposal is killed.

A couple of updates:

Biosafety lab to be built in Kakaako

Source: Pacific Business News

A proposed $37.5 million Pacific Regional Biosafety Lab will be built at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako. The lab will be used to develop new diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines for infectious diseases such as avian influenza, sudden acute respiratory syndrome, tuberculosis and West Nile encephalitis. Health officials say the lab is critical in developing an early-warning disease-detection system for pandemic influenza and will contribute to creating a life science park in Kakaako.

============================

The Ilikai -- Where Waikiki Begins

A local developer plans to divide ownership of Waikiki's iconic Ilikai hotel, after purchasing the two-tower property for more than $200 million yesterday.

*There has been discussion of turning all or part of the property into a Hard Rock-branded hotel, but Hawaii developer Brian Anderson said the immediate plan is merely to rename the property "The Ilikai -- Where Waikiki Begins."

This is what it looks like now:


Here's a rendering of what it may look like after rennovation:
An artist's rendering of what a renovated Ilikai might look like. Developer Brian Anderson says he intends to invest more than $40 million to transform the iconic property into an upscale high-rise hotel, while reselling part of the property to a hotel operator and other units to individual investors.
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  #150  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2006, 3:11 PM
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More Updates!

Pacific Quay: Harbor condo plan secures approval

Source: Honolulu Advertiser



Sketches show Pacific Quay from land, top, and from the harbor. Nearly 500 parking spaces would benefit nearby Aloha Tower Marketplace.



State officials gave Texas developer Ken Hughes the green light yesterday to proceed with plans to build 300 condominiums on public waterfront property diamondhead of Aloha Tower.

If negotiations on financial terms and other details proceed smoothly, Hughes could begin construction in about six months on Pacific Quay — a 130-foot-high complex with condo units, retail and restaurant space, 850 parking stalls and a public pedestrian promenade around the water's edge at piers 5 and 6.

The Aloha Tower Development Corp., the state agency which oversees the property, approved the project following a public meeting yesterday that drew mostly positive comments from a handful of residents.

The agency pledged to solicit more public input to help refine details of the plan, which has evolved over the past three years.

"I say the plans look great, and let's get on with it," said Carol Hopkins, a member of Scenic Hawai'i, a nonprofit environmental group.

Local architect Andrew Yanoviak also praised the plan for its mid-rise design and example of urban in-fill planning. "I encourage you to go forward," he said.

But Michele Matsuo, the owner of a seventh-floor residential condo in the makai tower of Harbor Square, said she felt approval of the project was inappropriate without notifying immediate neighbors.

"We will not have any harbor view anymore," she said. "My view will be obliterated."

Matsuo said Hughes attended Harbor Square's board meeting Tuesday night and made an informal briefing that led her to express her objection yesterday to the state agency. She also said tenants in other nearby buildings have not been directly apprised of the project.

Hughes said over the past three years he has met with 22 community groups and has received a consensus of support.

IN TWO PHASES

The project in August 2004 drew a 7-0 vote from the Downtown Neighborhood Board supporting the concept, which at the time comprised 350 loft apartments at piers 5 and 6 plus a downtown electric trolley system, a park replacing Hawaiian Electric Co.'s downtown power plant, removing parking spaces from Irwin Park and 10 stories of parking and condos at piers 10 and 11.

Since then, some elements of Pacific Quay have changed, though Hughes still plans a second phase of development that includes eliminating the parking from Irwin Park, moving the power plant and building a new cruise terminal with a 250-room hotel, state offices and parking at piers 10 and 11.

A bypass tunnel under Nimitz Highway is another potential piece of the estimated $300 million master plan.

Only the plan for piers 5 and 6 was approved yesterday. The private project would be built on land leased from the state. The state agency expects to consider elements in the second phase at some future time.

On piers 5 and 6, Hughes envisions six stories of condos above two levels of parking and about 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Of the condos, perhaps 60 to 80 may be dedicated as a boutique hotel, with the balance proposed as a mix of residences and an upscale version of time-shares where vacation owners typically have use of a unit for four weeks to three months.


MARKETPLACE PARKING

Nearly 500 of the 850 parking stalls would help cure a shortage plaguing Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Aloha Tower Development Corp. members view the project as a beneficial addition to Aloha Tower Marketplace and a key step toward a long and often unproductive effort to improve prime state land at the harbor.

The agency in the late 1980s selected a previous developer's plan for a hotel, festival marketplace, condos, office building and ferry terminal from piers 5 to 14.

But the $700 million project stalled in the early 1990s after completion of the $100 million Aloha Tower Marketplace that has struggled, in part because planned phases with more parking were not built.

The agency regained development rights for the land in 2000 and has been trying to find someone to finish redevelopment.

In 2002, the agency issued a request for proposals for the piers 5 and 6 site, which is mostly a parking lot. Agency directors embraced an initial plan by Hughes that called for leasehold rental apartments and a hotel.

Over the past three years, Hughes repeatedly modified his plan, which at one time involved selling state land for fee-simple condos — an idea that raised similar concerns over a recent effort by another state agency to sell public land in Kaka'ako for private condos.

The Kaka'ako plan sparked enough of a public backlash that legislators earlier this year blocked the project bordering Kewalo Harbor and Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.

LAND WOULD BE LEASED

No such outcry has been made over Pacific Quay, possibly in part because piers 5 and 6 are part of a state harbor that restricts public use on the water, and because the state is not selling land. Pacific Quay instead would have a 65-year lease from the state.

Still, Aloha Tower Development Corp. directors yesterday said they plan to form a public advisory group to help provide more feedback on the project.

The agency hopes to attract volunteers including members of the area's residential and business community as well as people with expertise in architecture, maritime, real estate, local culture and other areas.

Michelle Matson, a local resident who fought against the private-public Kaka'ako development plan, said she supports Pacific Quay, especially for providing a green public promenade along the waterfront.

John Michael White, a developer who lives and works in Harbor Square, said he's seen many proposals for the piers 5 and 6 site.

"I can say without hesitation ... Ken Hughes is the most qualified," he said. "Let's go with this."

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  #151  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2006, 4:46 AM
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Urbanguy gets so few replies in this thread I thought I'd respond here just to keep him from feeling lonely.
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  #152  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2006, 3:36 PM
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^hehe Thanks, it's okay, 'cause i know people are at least looking. There's just so much going on for a metro of under a million, I just have to share it.

More updates, smaller project and although a strip mall, the interesting part about it is that there will be roof top parking and judging from the looks of the rendering fairly small surface parking! So, in my opinion its good to see them managing the space a bit more wisely than dedicating most of the precious land to parking.

Kapahulu Safeway center to break ground
A longtime strip mall will be replaced with an upscale shopping center


Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin



Safeway Inc. is planning to celebrate the groundbreaking next month of its new store in Kapahulu.

What has long been a strip mall, home to a handful of small restaurants and shops at 870 Kapahulu Ave., is expected to undergo an upscale transformation. The name of the new center will be "The Avenue Shops at Safeway Center on Kapahulu."

Wendell Brooks III of PM Realty Group, who brokered the sale of the 4.5-acre site to Safeway, said site work will begin on Aug. 5 following the groundbreaking.

"There are signs of upgrading and changes," Brooks said. "Kapahulu is such a great avenue, with so many things to offer, and a unique character. We hope it never loses that."

In addition to the Kapahulu Safeway -- the supermarket chain's 13th on Oahu -- the center will offer close to 17,000 square feet of new retail space.

Tenants for roughly half of the new spaces are close to signing leases, according to PM Realty Group broker Kyle Arsiga. Interest was very strong, he said, and will result in a mix of both local businesses and new-to-Hawaii shops.

Rents at "The Avenue Shops" range from $8 to $12 per square foot per month, according to PM Realty Group, setting a new bar for the neighborhood.

Renderings for the new Safeway depict a sleek, contemporary supermarket with rooftop parking, outdoor seating and "art deco" touches.

The new supermarket will measure more than 60,000 square feet, about two times larger than most Safeway stores on Oahu, with rooftop parking as well as surface parking.


Completion is expected late next summer.

Brooks said Safeway's strategic location is expected to serve customers from both the neighborhood and visitors from Waikiki.

It will be in the new "lifestyle" format, similar to the newly remodeled Safeway in Hawaii Kai, which features wood floors and expanded gourmet food offerings.

Plans for a gas station, initially proposed in February of last year, were scrapped after surrounding neighbors protested the potential traffic jams it would bring.

The Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St. Louis Heights neighborhood board voted to approve the Safeway project without the gas station last year following several presentations by Safeway's director of real estate, Steve Berndt.

But not all members were pleased with Safeway's arrival.

Neighborhood board member George Waialeale, who lives next door to the Safeway site, said traffic is still his primary concern.

"They're listening to us, but they don't hear us," he said. "The traffic on Kapahulu Avenue is horrendous as it is, and now we're going to add this store."

Tenants at the strip mall have been informed that their leases will expire in mid-September.

Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins already are gone, and the space is on temporary lease to state Sen. Les Ihara (D-Kapahulu-Palolo-Kaiumki) for his campaign office.

Diamond Head Video will move to a temporary location at Kalakaua Avenue, near the Hawaii Convention Center, after 15 years at the strip mall.

A post office branch, Subway sandwich shop and discount Love's bakery also will be leaving.

JJ Diner, another longtime mainstay at the strip mall, likely will close its doors, according to owner Kenneth Lam, unless the restaurant finds a new location.
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  #153  
Old Posted Aug 9, 2006, 3:06 PM
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Does anyone know if Saks Fifth Avenue store is planning on opening the store in Honolulu? I don't mean OFF 5th, I mean the real one.
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  #154  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2006, 2:54 AM
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^I haven't heard anything about a full-line store but there is an outlet store.
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  #155  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2006, 5:30 AM
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Question New guy

Aloha Urbanguy and other interested people of Honolulu's architecture. I'm new to forums like this. How can I post digital photos and diagrams I would like to share but they are on my hard drive and not linked to another page on the internet? And how can I get a graphic icon to go along with my name like the rest of you guys? I have much to share like current construction update photos.
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  #156  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2006, 1:33 AM
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Location: Kansas City, MISSOURI
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PolyArch
Aloha Urbanguy and other interested people of Honolulu's architecture. I'm new to forums like this. How can I post digital photos and diagrams I would like to share but they are on my hard drive and not linked to another page on the internet? And how can I get a graphic icon to go along with my name like the rest of you guys? I have much to share like current construction update photos.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=84068
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  #157  
Old Posted Sep 3, 2006, 2:34 AM
ANDVA ANDVA is offline
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Does anyone else know if Saks is planning on opening the store in Honolulu?
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  #158  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2006, 10:32 PM
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Urbanguy Urbanguy is offline
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^Hmm... not that i know of but there is an outlet store and thats about it as far as i know.

PolyArch, welcome to the forum. Hope to see you post more soon.

Updates:

Lock Up Storage Center

This is a storage facility and what a trip, 'cause it looks like a mini office building.

Lock Up Storage Centers plans to woo female customers with well-lit corridors and security systems.


Source: Honolulu Magazine

BRB Development Co., the parent company of Lock Up Storage Centers, lures customers with carpeting in hallways and rooms, easy-listening music piped through the building, and an extensive intercom system, according to Bob Soudan Jr., co-owner of BRB. Since the company’s research indicates that women make the vast number of decisions to use self storage, the buildings are designed to appeal to female senses with high-security systems, well-lit corridors and carefully chosen color schemes (white walls with muted blue carpet, if you’re wondering).

“It’s not a muffler shop,” Soudan says. “It’s more like a hotel or bank lobby. It’s nice. A lot of times when people are using self storage their life is in transition. They just got married, someone died, they’re going through a divorce. We want to make people feel as comfortable as possible.”

The company chose its locations carefully, with three new sites under construction in McCully, Pearl City and Waipahu. Instead of more industrial settings, the company sought land within one or two miles of residential areas. Women like it, he says, because they feel safe storing belongings even late at night, and everyone appreciates storage closer to home.

O‘ahu’s Lock Up Storage Centers are the newest of the company’s 25 facilities spread throughout five other states. With each new building, Soudan says, the company refines its model.

====================================

NOAA center breaks ground


Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy yesterday broke ground on NOAA's $250 million Pacific Regional Center. NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher, a retired Navy vice admiral once stationed in Hawai'i, said more than one dozen of its agencies and offices housing more than 500 staff members are now scattered throughout O'ahu, from Hawai'i Kai to 'Ewa Beach. They will be consolidated into one general area once the 30-acre center is completed in about 2010.

======================================

Royal Kunia development in Central Honolulu County (O'ahu)

Source: Honolulu Advertiser

Royal Kunia is just one of several planned developments in the Central O'ahu and Leeward O'ahu communities, which is expected to see the construction of more than 40,000 new homes during the next two decades.
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  #159  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2006, 12:17 AM
Makani Makani is offline
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Ward Centers Area

Does anyone know the status of the projects planned in the Ward Centre area. That whole Kakaako area is so different than even 3 years ago. Also I thought I heard the Crescent Heights was planning on another high-rise like their Ko'olani and have not heard or seen anything since.
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  #160  
Old Posted Sep 16, 2006, 11:13 PM
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Urbanguy Urbanguy is offline
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^Well the project at Ward Centre was haulted temporarily because of an "iwi" they found while escavating, it's a standard procedure in Hawaii out of respect to possible old Hawaiian gravesites until they decide what they are going to do with the graves. The last i heard is that they are now going to go forward with the project and move the remains.

Crescent Heights is planning another project i think i may have posted something about it somewhere in this thread. I can't remember the project off-hand.

Here are some updates:

Sheraton may join Waikiki makeover

Source: Honolulu Advertiser

Sheraton hotels in Waikiki, including the oldest lodge on the storied beach, the Moana Surfrider, may soon undergo major upgrades, pushing the total value of recent private investments in the area to well over $1 billion.

The owners of the Sheraton properties are considering replacing the diamondhead wing of the Sheraton Moana Surfrider with a new hotel and tearing down part of the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel to make way for a new time-share tower.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which manages the four Sheraton hotels in Waikiki, described the plans as "conceptual" and declined to give a cost estimate yesterday. But the cost could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a hotel expert, who asked not to be identified because he is not directly involved in the Sheraton planning. The Moana Surfrider's Diamond Wing may be replaced with a new, 200- to 250-room hotel, the notice said. The new properties may be flagged with a different Starwood brand like Westin.

The tentative plan would be the latest in a string of redevelopment projects and upgrades changing the face of Waikiki:

# Outrigger Enterprises Group's Waikiki Beach Walk project.

# Trump Tower.

# Hilton's Grand Waikikian.

# Kamehameha Schools' renovation of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

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