Proposed Honolulu Condo Towers – The List of 12
August 4, 2013 2 Comments
These days in Hawaii, one of the most common topics real estate appraisers are confronted with is: “Have you heard about that new tower they announced in Kakaako?”
Very often, I’m asked for specifics about a new high rise condominium development in Honolulu. I decided to compile a concise list.
There is an enormous amount of development activity happening in Hawaii right now, especially in urban Honolulu. Major developers, lenders, and landowners are involved, including: Alexander and Baldwin (A&B), Howard Hughes Corporation, The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group, OliverMcMillan, Tradewind Capital, Kamehameha Schools, Stanford Carr, American Savings Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Wells Fargo, and First Hawaiian Bank.
As I started to put this list together, I quickly realized that the variety of residential projects being planned was staggering: High-rise condos, student housing, timeshare, hotel, high-rise apartments, low-rise condominiums, senior housing, and even affordable housing for artists!
Here are the parameters for inclusion in this article:
- High-Rise Construction
- Fee Simple Condominiums
- Whole Ownership (No Timeshare)
- An active development plan on track for approvals, financing, and construction.
12 Oahu towers made the cut, a total of 4,166 proposed units–web links and a brief summary of each project is included below:
| 2013 PROPOSED / COMPLETED HIGH RISE CONDOMINIUM TOWERS | ||||
| Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii | ||||
| # | Tower Name (click name) | Stories | Units | Status / Timing |
| 1 | Holomua | 23 | 176 | Completed: Early 2013 |
| 2 | Waihonua at Kewalo | 43 | 341 | Under Construction Completion: 2014 of 2015 |
| 3 | ONE Ala Moana | 23 | 210 | Under Construction Completion: Late 2014 |
| 4 | Symphony Honolulu | 45 | 388 | Groundbreaking: Late 2013 Completion: 2015 |
| 5 | 801 South Street | 46 | 635 | Groundbreaking: “Mid-2013” |
| 6 | Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach |
36 | 309 | Groundbreaking: Late 2013 Completion: 2016 |
| 7 | The Collection (3 buildings, 1 high rise) |
43 | 460 | Groundbreaking: Mid to Late 2014 Completion: Late 2016 to 2017 |
| 8 | 404 Ward Ave | 38 | 424 | Groundbreaking: Early 2014 Completion: 2016 |
| 9 | Keauhou Lane in Kakaako | 40 | 600 | Groundbreaking: Mid to Late 2014 |
| 10 | Aloha Kai | 39 | 128 | Completion: 2016 |
| 11 | “Fishnet Tower” | 38 | 177 | Proposed |
| 12 | “Wave Tower” | 38 | 318 | Proposed |
| Compiled by: Chris Ponsar, MAI | 4,166 | Total Units | ||
The map below shows the location of each project in urban Honolulu:
Click HERE to view details in Bing Maps
This link: http://binged.it/13RCPpX takes you to an interactive Bing Map that shows photos and details of each project. As shown, most of the activity is in Kakaako.
Want more details?
Here you go:
CLICK CHART TO ENLARGE
Comments and/or Questions? Please leave them in the comments section below–I’d be happy to clarify or expand.
Aloha, Chris
About Chris Ponsar
Chris Ponsar, MAI, SRA 
Great overview. I notice that sweet spot for the number of stories seems to be about 40. I was wondering what factors might be behind that in Honolulu. When I did property risk analyses at a few towers in Miami a couple of years ago, I noticed that there was a concentration of properties around the 400 foot range (33-40 floors) but also another group significantly taller, in the 500-650 foot range. Perhaps that’s another aspect of development priorities, but your comprehensive list made me wonder.
There is a soft height limit of 400 feet in Kakaako, the area of Honolulu between Waikiki and Downtown. In Waikiki, the height limit is understood to be 350 feet, which was set to be a little less than half of the height of Diamond Head–the obvious intent was to preserve the classic Waikiki skyline.
There is currently a 650-foot tower approved being developed in Kakaako: 690 Pohukaina
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2012/12/13/forest-city-hawaii-chosen-to-develop.html