A Texas company with rights to build a condominium tower atop a parking structure next to Honolulu’s Nordstrom department store at Ala Moana Center has partnered with two Hawaii development companies to pursue the venture.
The Howard Hughes Corp. announced Thursday that The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group will help evaluate the feasibility of developing the envisioned luxury residential high-rise. If feasible, the partners would develop the project.
Dallas-based Hughes Corp. acquired the rights to the project last year when it bought certain real estate assets from Ala Moana Center’s owner, General Growth Properties, including Ward Centers.
General Growth built the six-story Nordstrom garage to support a tower up to 18 stories tall, and envisioned developing 210 luxury condo units.
Hughes Corp. and its partners said there is no expectation as to if or when development could begin.
“I think it’s a good time to start studying the opportunity,” said Duncan MacNaughton, principal of The MacNaughton Group. “We think it’s a pretty exciting opportunity.”
The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group were involved in building luxury condo towers in Honolulu during the most recent real estate boom, including Hokua in Kakaako and Capitol Place downtown. Hokua is recognized as being the first luxury condo tower built on the leading edge of that boom.
“With their strong knowledge of the Hawaii market and experience developing first-class condominium towers, MacNaughton and Kobayashi are ideal partners to work with to explore the Ala Moana Tower opportunity,” David Weinreb, Hughes Corp. chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Hughes Corp. also inherited plans from General Growth to redevelop Ward Centers into a community with expanded retail businesses, landscaped pedestrian plazas and up to 20 mid- and high-rise towers with as many as 4,300 residential units. Hughes Corp. officials have not given a timetable for proceeding with any of the Ward project.
