They’re heeeeerrre … or at least, they’re starting. The first of at least five condominium towers in the Ala Moana area broke ground on Thursday, heralding a dramatic change-of-landscape to come.

The Hawaii City Plaza residential high-rise will supply 184 units (condos and rentals) on Sheridan Street next to Walmart when completed in three years. The other towers expected to break ground this year are the 408-unit (condos and rentals) Azure Ala Moana on Keeaumoku Street, The Central Ala Moana 513-unit condo tower on Kapiolani Boulevard, the 244-unit condo-hotel Mana‘olana Place at Kapiolani and Atkinson Drive, and the 391-unit condo-hotel Hawaii Ocean Plaza on Kapiolani.

Good news for the construction industry — but those condotels should give pause to affordable-housing advocates.

Isles prepare to support 10 million tourists

While the influx of visitors fell short of the 10 million mark, 2018 still turned out to be another record-breaking year for Hawaii tourism. According to a preliminary report last week, arrivals topped out at 9.9 million, an increase of nearly 6 percent over 2017.

As the industry anticipates another busy year, the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s new CEO, Chris Tatum, will be tasked with playing a lead role in efforts to better balance the demands of the state’s economic engine with concerns about destination management issues, ranging from illegal vacation rentals to protecting the state’s photogenic natural resources.