Three more condominium towers could start to rise along Ala Moana Boulevard in Kakaako next year following development permit approvals granted by a state agency Tuesday.

Board members of the Hawaii Community Development Authority unanimously approved a pair of towers that will replace much of Ward Warehouse and one tower on the site of a family of Cutter automobile dealerships about a block away just Ewa of Ward Avenue.

The three towers were not as controversial as some previous high-rise projects approved over the last couple of years by HCDA, the agency governing development in Kakaako.

Two of the towers are planned by Howard Hughes Corp., which owns Ward Centers and has a master plan to redevelop the 60-acre area into a new community called Ward Village with up to 22 residential towers over the next decade or so.

Three towers previously had been approved at Ward Village. Joining those are a 28-story tower with 123 units and a 35-story tower with 113 units separated by a 34,000-square-foot public park with a waterway. Each of the two new towers will be fronted by low-rise townhomes along Ala Moana Boulevard and retail space along Auahi Street.

Valerie Yamashita, who had a store called Craft Flair at Ward Warehouse for 19 years before it closed in 2010, told HCDAboard members that she used to worry about being displaced by redevelopment plans that had been floated in recent decades. However, now she is excited by the impending transformation that she said will create a better community and help businesses thrive.

"I realize sometimes you need to change,"she said.

Yamashita, who has a store at nearby Ward Centre called Jewel Flair that is closing at the end of December, was one of 10 people who testified in person at Tuesday’s public hearing. All expressed support for the project dubbed Ward Village Gateway. HCDA also received 154 letters in support and 12 in opposition.

David Striph, senior vice president in Hawaii for Texas-based Hughes Corp., said construction is slated to begin next year. "We’re just really happy with the decision,"he said after the 6-0 HCDAboard vote with three absent members.

Hughes Corp. has not released an expected price range for Ward Village Gateway residences, though they will likely be in the luxury realm with million-dollar units.

The company estimates that the project will generate $85 million in state tax revenue and 3,500 jobs a year for two years during construction followed by

$3 million in annual property taxes for the city.

The other project approved Tuesday is a 39-story tower called Vida at 888 Ala Moana where 265 units are projected to sell for $900,000 to $4.7 million.

MK Vida LLC, a partnership between local development firms Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group, is the developer of Vida on land being bought from Kamehameha Schools, which has a master plan for up to seven towers on 29 contiguous acres in Kakaako.

The developer has projected that its project will generate 500 temporary jobs during construction followed by 250 permanent jobs on the property and

$2 million in annual property tax revenue for the city.

Five people testified at the hearing with four in support and one opposed.

Marc Okumura, who once dealt with MacNaughton and Kobayashi representatives as an owner of a unit in a building the developers erected in downtown Honolulu called Capitol Place, said Vida would be a perfect place to live because his wife works at the nearby University of Hawaii medical school.

"We like the location,"he said."We like the concept."

Lenora Springer, however, said the planned 400-foot tower is too tall. "The density of the neighborhood is just too high,"she said.

The board approved Vida with a 5-0 vote with four members absent.

"We’re very pleased,"Kathy Inouye, Kobayashi Group chief operating officer, said after the decision. "We’re very excited."

Inouye said sales are expected to begin by March and that 70 interested buyers have already been added to a waiting list.