Posted Nov 8, 2012, 9:12 AM
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HONOLULU | Symphony Building | 400 FT (122 M) | 40 Floors
Kinda old, but seems worthy.
Developer tunes up for new ‘Symphony’ high-rise project
Quote:
A $200-million, 407-unit, mixed-use condominium project in Kakaako that is expected to create between 300 and 400 construction jobs is picking up steam.
San Diego-based developer OliverMcMillan and JN Automotive Group founder Joe Nicholai recently applied for a development permit with the Hawaii Community Development Authority.
The HCDA has scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday — one of two it is required to hold — and also has set a variance hearing for March 7. The variance hearing, according to HCDA Executive Director Anthony Ching, will focus on the building’s orientation.
If it receives approval, the development will sit on two acres at the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and Ward Avenue across from the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The long-stalled project will officially be called “Symphony,” according to Dan Nishikawa, president of OliverMcMillan Pacific Rim. The name can be attributed to the property’s ties to the now defunct Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and the Blaisdell Concert Hall, where it played its concerts, he said.
Architects Hawaii will design the building. Nishikawa said a construction company has not yet been chosen.
“We’re very confident [about this project] and we’re excited to show people and provide a good-quality luxury project and show what we can do from scratch,” he said.
It would be Oliver McMillan’s second residential high-rise development in the neighborhood. It took over the foreclosed, partially built Moana Vista down the street and rebranded it as Pacifica, which it finished building last year.
Ching said of the 407 planned units, 311 will be market-priced and 96 will be reserved for work-force housing. They will range in price from $350,000 to $700,000, he said.
Plans for the 40-story development call for the first four or five floors to include showrooms and a service center for Nicholai’s exotic car dealerships. He could not be reached for comment for this story.
Nishikawa said presale of the condos will start in late summer and construction could begin by the end of the year with completion in 2015.
“We’re looking at other opportunities in Honolulu,” he said. “This may include other sites in Kakaako and we’re looking at multiple types of mixed-use projects.”
Nishikawa said he anticipates the administrative process with the HCDA to be completed in May or June.
“This project won’t be delivered for three years and there aren’t many new ones except Waihonua and, based on its sales, the market is still pretty strong,” he said.
A&B Properties recently began sales for Waihonua at Kewalo, another residential condo tower planned for Kakaako near Ala Moana Center and Ward Centers. More than 75 percent of the units are already reserved, according to Jeff Stone, president and CEO of Honolulu-based The Resort Group.
“I’m impressed by that,” he told PBN. “It’s a ripple effect — in that if Waihonua goes fast, so will Symphony and they’ve [OliverMcMillan] had success, so it looks like a lot of the conditions are improving and I’m hopeful we can see this thing get off the ground.”
Stanford Carr, president of Honolulu-based Stanford Carr Development, told PBN that the “market is crying for new inventory” and that the high interest in a similar-type development like Waihonua is a good signal for the viability of Symphony.
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