Builders start on tower that will house students

A 599-bed student rental housing tower planned near the University of Hawaii at Manoa has broken ground and should be completed in mid-2018 or 2019, according to the new majority owner of the project at the makai-Diamond Head corner of University Avenue and South King Street.

EdR, a Memphis, Tenn.-based real estate investment trust, announced Thursday that construction of the $110 million project is underway after the company partnered with Laconia Development LLC, a California firm that initiated the project and presented the plan to the McCully-Moiliili Neighborhood Board in February. Plans call for about 200 apartments featuring one, two, three and four bedrooms.

The 14-story building also is designed to have 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, 198 parking stalls, storage for 274 bicycles or mopeds and rooftop recreation space with a fitness center, community kitchen, study lounges and gaming area.

Laconia projected in February that rental rates would be about $7,600 per semester for one occupant sharing a two-bedroom unit with three others, or $11,265 for a tenant sharing a two-bedroom unit with one other person.

The apartment tower is replacing a low-rise retail complex where several tenants, including Hungry Ear Records, have moved out.

EdR will own 90 percent of the apartment project and manage it after completion.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with EdR to bring a modern housing option to students at the Manoa campus of the University of Hawaii,” Paul Menzies, Laconia CEO, said in a statement.

EdR said it manages 86 communities with more than 44,400 beds serving 53 universities in 24 states.