Kamehameha Schools said Wednesday it is selling two Kakaako blocks fronting Ala Moana Boulevard to MK Development, a joint venture of Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group, to develop two luxury condominium towers with a combined 500 units.
A spokesman for Kamehameha Schools said the trust is selling "Block H," which now houses a Jaguar/Land Rover dealership and an Office Max, and "Block I," with a Cutter Mazda dealership, on Ala Moana Boulevard just Diamond Head of Cooke Street.
Sales should start in fall 2015 if the projects are approved by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which oversees the redevelopment of Kakaako.
The projects will include retail space on the street level, said the Kamehameha Schools spokesman, who asked not to be identified by name because the projects have not been officially announced.
Kamehameha Schools’ master plan for Kakaako calls for building seven mixed-use residential and retail towers, including three luxury towers on Ala Moana Boulevard — the two by MK Development and a third on the block just Ewa of Cooke Street. Kamehameha Schools has not said who will be developing the third luxury tower.
The seven towers will add an estimated 2,750 units, including some rental units and some fee-simple units reserved for middle-income families. The towers will also have 300,000 square feet of commercial space.
Kamehameha Schools, Hawaii’s largest private landowner, is a private trust that uses its money to educate students of Hawaiian ancestry.
Previously, Kamehameha Schools announced plans for three other Kakaako sites:
» Honolulu developer Stanford Carr will build a $300 million residential project that will include a 40-story high-rise tower at 555 South St., currently an open parking area kitty-corner from Restaurant Row, as well as low-rise townhomes, live-work units, rental apartments and retail space.
» Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is developing the former site of a CompUSA store at the makai end of South Street from the trust and proposing a tower and low-rise buildings with 470 condominiums called The Collection.
» Kamehameha Schools is developing a retail complex dubbed SALT by renovating old buildings on a block adjacent to The Collection.
