We finally have an opening date of Honolulu light rail - June 30, 2023!
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A summary of some big ongoing TOD projects in Honolulu:
Mandarin Oriental | 418 FT | 37 FLOORS
- Mixed-use: 20 floors of hotel space, 99 luxury residential units
- Site work ongoing, construction estimated completion 2026
- Ala Moana neighborhood (1687 Kapiolani Blvd)
- Phase 1 sitework at The Residences at Mandarin Oriental in Honolulu on schedule to be completed by Q2 - Pacific Business News (bizjournals.com)
Sky Ala Moana | 400 FT | 43 & 37 FLOORS (2 towers)
- Mixed-use: Hotel, 473 residential units, 2 floors of commercial space
- Construction ongoing, estimated completion 2023
- Ala Moana neighborhood (1388 & 1400 Kapiolani Blvd)
- Sky Ala Moana - Honolulu, Hawaii Condo by HIcondos.com
The Park on Keeaumoku | 400 FT | 42 FLOORS (2 towers)
- Residential: 972 units, 826 market-rate & 146 affordable
- Construction ongoing, estimated completion 2025
- Ala Moana neighborhood (825 Keeaumoku St)
- Developer Lands $528M for Honolulu Condo Project - Multi-Housing News (multihousingnews.com)
Three more 400-ft towers have been or are seeking approval in this area including 1500 Kapiolani, Ala Moana Plaza, and 1538 Kapiolani Tower (Development Projects (honolulu.gov))
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The Park on Keeaumoku (825 Keeaumoku St)
Construction Update - The Park on Keeaumoku
Tower 1 at 25/44 floors, Tower 2 at 15/44 floors as of this week.
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Will Honolulu ever get towers above 500 feet? Or is it understood that every place suited for high-density development would also impede views of Diamond Head if buildings are built too tall?
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HCDA executive director Anthony Ching says the rules in Kakaako are straightforward: an overall height limit of 400 feet (plus another 18 feet for machinery). Any developer who wants to exceed that has to meet three criteria—at least 75 percent of the units must be priced as affordable workforce housing, the building must receive no government subsidies and the maximum unit size must be 1,100 square feet or a three-bedroom—before he or she can ask for a height variance.
Even then, “it doesn’t mean they’ll automatically get the variance,” says Ching. As for the three possible 650-foot towers, he says rules will be set by this summer, after the environmental impact statement is reviewed. “To build to that height, the project must offer an exemplary public benefit,” says Ching, “and the rules will include public input on the project.”
Needless to say, these 650ft towers never materialized. And yes, the height limit is primarily to keep Diamond Head (800ft tall) in view from the city.
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The Park on Keeaumoku (825 Keeaumoku St)
Construction Update - The Park on Keeaumoku
Both buildings have topped out, interior work is ongoing.
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During his fifth State of the City address Tuesday, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced that the second segment of the Skyline rail will open to the public on Oct. 1, and construction on the third segment will begin this year.
The second segment runs a little over 5 miles from Aloha Stadium to Middle Street and includes stops at Honolulu airport and Pearl Harbor.
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina was a bit surprised by Blangiardi’s commitment to a firm opening date.
“You know how mayor is. So he did the same thing to us in segment one. I kept telling him summer, summer, summer. ‘No, I want to say a date,’” she recalled.
She previously indicated that segment two would open later this year — but had not committed to a date. Kahikina said Blangiardi did give her a heads-up before his speech this week.
“I still wanted to tell everyone that night, when he said ‘Oct. 1’, I stood up and I said, ‘end of the year,’” she joked.
Kahikina said she sent an email the following morning to her team, including Hitachi and the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, emphasizing the need to do everything in their power to complete the next segment by Oct. 1.
“By him saying opening Oct. 1, that actually backs us up a little bit more, because we need to give time to transfer over to DTS, and they determine actually when they open for revenue service,” she said.
Kahikina said her team will know more about the schedule once Hitachi goes into trial runs in July.
“I do want to make it so public that we are not going to cut corners just to meet that Oct. 1 deadline. We have to make sure everything is safe,” she said.
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