Editorial: More towers for Kakaako

A quick overview of the Victoria Ward Master Plan shows just how much the prime Kakaako neighborhood has been built up — and how much there still is to go.

Like pieces of a massive jigsaw puzzle, completed projects have filled land parcels, including Ward Village Shops and the residential towers Waiea, Anaha, Ae‘o and Ke Kilohana; the Ko‘ula and A‘ali‘i towers are under construction.

Now comes Kakaako master developer Howard Hughes Corp. with proposals for two more big chunks of the puzzle, totaling 1,243 residential units:

>> The Ulana tower, planned with 697 moderately priced units that would help fulfill a state requirement that 20% of all new homes at Ward Village be priced to meet federal affordability levels for moderate-income Honolulu households. The $409 million project — on a block bordered by Auahi, Kamani and Pohukaina streets now occupied by small businesses — would include a separate parking structure, retail spaces and a 30,000-square-foot public park.

>> The Park on Ward, a luxury tower of 546 condos on land once occupied by a Sports Authority with current tenants such as Starbucks, Wahoo’s Fish Taco and Ba-Le Sandwich Shop. This $620 million project also plans to have ground-floor retail.

Controversy has risen over some of Hughes Corp.’s earlier Kakaako projects — lawsuits over Waiea’s undulating facade, for example, and Ke Kilohana’s construction and rising maintenance fees. So, expect aspects of Ulana and The Park on Ward to be scrutinized closely when they undergo two virtual public hearings before the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA), on March 3 and March 10 (see dbedt.hawaii.gov/hcda/events/notice-of- public-hearings/).

For example, Hughes Corp. is asking for modifications on Ulana’s design to increase the platform or street-front element height from 45 feet to 75 feet plus an additional 12 feet for accessory-use structures — changes higher than height-limit rules but similar to which HCDA has OK’d for other towers.

“This modification will allow a platform design that is key to being able to create the street-level open space and community activation integral to Ward Village and the desired urban neighborhood experience,” Hughes said in its proposal.

Oahu is in desperate need of more housing, of course — but affordability matters, especially as the pandemic has constrained household budgets and the ability to save. It’ll now fall on HCDA — and public input — to determine if Oahu residents are getting enough in return for a changing Kakaako.