Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
A 43-story condominium will be a new addition in Kakaako as part of a development plan that also includes townhomes, a couple of restaurants and retail on the former site of a CompUSA store.
Dubbed “The Collection at 600 Ala Moana,” the $200 million project unveiled Tuesday by local developer Alexander & Baldwin Inc. will be the second major piece of a roughly 15-year redevelopment plan for nine contiguous blocks covering 29 acres owned by Kamehameha Schools.
The A&B project, containing about 470 condo units, also will be the first of seven residential high-rises envisioned in that master plan, and the biggest piece so far.
“This residential development is a very big step in Kamehameha Schools’ master plan,” said Paul Kay, director of real estate development for the trust.
Kamehameha Schools envisions transforming the area, which is still largely filled with warehouse buildings, into a residential and retail neighborhood that the trust initially called Kaiaulu o Kakaako, or Kakaako community, and recently re-branded as Our Kakaako.
Chris Benjamin, president of A&B, said the company is excited to help fulfill the master plan vision.
“Today for us is a very important step in the advancement of this neighborhood in Kakaako,” he said.
“We are very excited about embarking on this latest project.”
Kamehameha Schools obtained state approval in 2009 for its conceptual master plan, which allows up to 2,750 residences and 300,000 square feet of commercial space.
An old four-story office building converted by Kamehameha Schools to 54 rental apartment lofts on a neighboring block last year was the first major piece of redevelopment in the master plan.
A&B disclosed its intent to build a high-rise on the former CompUSA site a year ago when it announced that it acquired an option to buy the 3.3-acre block bordered by Ala Moana Boulevard and South, Keawe and Auahi streets. The company built the Keola La‘i condo tower at the corner of Queen and South streets about five years ago and last year began construction on another tower called Waihonua on Queen Street close to Ala Moana Center.
The land sale has yet to be completed, and the price is not being disclosed by the buyer or seller.
Construction of The Collection, which is projected to employ 300 people over roughly two years, will occur in phases and start with the tower.
The redevelopment will displace used-car dealership AutoMart USA, which leased the former CompUSA store that opened in 1998 and closed in 2008.
Tower construction is at least a year away, A&B said, given that a development permit needs to be submitted to and approved by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency overseeing development in Kakaako. A certain number of sales commitments for condo units also will be a factor as to when tower construction begins.
Condo sales are expected to begin this summer, with prices starting near $400,000 for one-bedroom units and going well above $700,000 for three-bedroom units. Benjamin said he expects primarily local buyers.
The tower mostly fronting Keawe will contain about 400 units. A four-story condo with about 50 single-floor units will front Ala Moana, and 16 three-story townhomes will front much of South and Auahi streets.
All three residential buildings will line a parking structure on the interior of the block. Some retail and restaurant space also will be on the property.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie helped introduce the plans for The Collection at a news conference Tuesday at a new information center for Our Kakaako across Keawe from the A&B project site.
Abercrombie said Kakaako needs to become the next core for housing in Honolulu — Oahu’s “third city” in contrast with the “second city” of Kapolei — if the island is to avoid unending urban sprawl.
“This area is going to blossom,” he said. “This vision is the vision of the future.”
The Kamehameha Schools master plan provides for a range of housing from the lower end to the higher end of affordability. Under state development authority rules, 20 percent of residential units in the master plan must be affordable to buyers or renters earning no more than 140 percent of Honolulu’s median income.
A&B said Kamehameha Schools will be satisfying that requirement on other pieces of its master plan, such as the rental apartment loft project known as Six-Eighty on an adjacent block.
Kay, the trust’s director of real estate development, said more affordable housing is in the works — along with more retail and restaurants — and will help create a diversified community.
“We are enjoying witnessing (Kakaako’s) transition into a place of creativity, innovation and community,” he said.
_______
COLLECTION OF CONDOMINIUMS
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. plans to develop close to 470 condominiums in three buildings dubbed The Collection. The project site is one of nine blocks under a master plan created by landowner Kamehameha Schools.
>> Project name: The Collection at 600 Ala Moana
>> Development cost: More than $200 million
>> Site: 3.3-acre block once home to a CompUSA store
>> Construction start: At least a year away
>> Condo prices: From $400,000 to $700,000 depending on unit size
79