Kapolei growing up
Investors have poured
$3 billion into West Oahu
during the past decade
As Hawaii's economy rises along with tourism and job growth, Oahu's fastest growing city Kapolei is poised to continue its transformation into the state's next major urban center.
More than 40 leaders from Oahu's business, real estate and economic sectors held a conference yesterday at Ko Olina to discuss the future of economic development in West Oahu. As the state cashes in on tourism, real estate and construction growth, West Oahu will be a major player, better positioning it to achieve its much-touted status as Oahu's second city, said Donna B. Goth, president of Aina Nui Corp.
The Kapolei region, which has been evolving for the past 25 years into a second urban center where residents can live, work and play, experienced phenomenal commercial and residential growth in 2003, Goth said.
During the past decade, investors have poured $3 billion into West Oahu, which includes Waipahu, Ewa, Ewa Beach, Makakilo, Kapolei, Nanakuli, Waianae and Makaha, Goth said. They've bought homes and opened up more than 2,000 businesses, which have created about 15,000 jobs in the Kapolei region alone, she said. And, last year, the city closed on 11 major commercial land deals, which was a 120 percent year-over-year increase.
The future definitely looks bright for West Oahu, but the region will still need a community vision to capitalize on tourism and job growth, said other conference participants, including community leaders such as Marsha Wienert, Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison; Bruce Coppa, managing director of the Pacific Resource Partnership; and Mike Fitzgerald, president and chief executive of Enterprise Honolulu.
"It's going to be very important that this region get a vision of consensus amongst its leadership," Fitzgerald said. "They'll need to have both the foresight and courage to make the decision to do these things before they are needed, or there will be just a mish mash of development."
But despite development delays caused by an economy stunted by the Asian crisis, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, SARS and the war with Iraq, Kapolei's vision of a nicely planned urban center had remained steady, Goth said.
A drive through Kapolei shows a balance of commercial and residential construction in a well planned community. There's a Home Depot poised to open in mid-March and at least four new restaurants, including a Chinese and an Italian restaurant operated by the owners of Assaggio, will be opening in the next 12 to 18 months, Goth said.
There's also talk of construction in several niche markets, including a private school called Pacific Island Academy, an age-in-place senior living facility, an amphitheater, an aquarium and possibly a theme park, she said.
"We're on our way," Goth said. "I think we are just hitting our stride. It's been slow, but I really sense a turn in activity. Everything is going to start moving a lot faster now."
Great demographics is one of the major reasons Goth and others at the conference have forecasted a flurry of positive economic activity in West Oahu, particularly in the Kapolei region.
While Honolulu's population was shrinking, West Oahu's base grew 89 percent from 1990 to 2000, significantly outpacing the United State's 13 percent population rise, Goth said.
The population is expected to continue its upward trend with Kapolei's population projected to reach 100,000 by 2010.
But more importantly, Kapolei is an affluent community, boasting a median income of $69,640, which puts it among the top six wealthiest zip codes in the state, she said.
Also, 70 percent of Kapolei's residents are homeowners, she said, adding that only East Honolulu has more homeownership.
"Our population is on the rise and so are our businesses, who are drawn by our incredible customer base," Goth said, adding that locating in West Oahu offers tremendous advantages for residents and businesses alike.
"Why come west? If you take a look at all of the projects in Kapolei and the quality of those projects, you'll see that it's the best that's happening in the state," she said.
However, as more and more development takes place in West Oahu it's going to become even more important for the region to deal with issues such as congested traffic and the need for more advanced educational opportunities, Fitzgerald said.
There's tremendous potential for West Oahu to benefit from the development that is underway in seven key business sectors including life sciences/biotech, military/dual use, astronomy/space science, information technology, telecommunication, film/digital media and ocean resources/marine science, he said.
West Oahu is primed for expansion as these sectors grow because it has more available land and lower residential housing prices than any other region in Oahu, Fitzgerald said.
"The economy is going to grow, and the only way that it can grow with sensible expansion is in West Oahu," he said, adding that growth in the region would accelerate if the University of Hawaii decided to move forward with plans for a larger West Oahu campus in Kapolei or a monorail or ferry transportation system was built.
West Oahu also needs some marketing infrastructure to develop its tourist market, Wienert said.
As Oahu's growing visitor market goes in search of new experiences, West Oahu could better capture its share of the market by creating partnerships to market the area, Wienert said, adding that each of the neighbor islands has its own destination association, funded by resorts and retail businesses.
"It's time to start discussions about marketing this area so you can attract visitors who want to experience new and exciting destinations and reap the awards of their $1 billion spending," Wienert said.
Providing better educational opportunities for West Oahu residents will also be important if the region wants to produce residents that have the skills to take advantage of job growth in the construction industry, Coppa said.
Thousands of new jobs will be created as the tremendous influx in federal and state projects is likely to create a decade-long construction boom in Hawaii, followed by 40 years of maintenance, but filling those jobs will require a trained workforce, he said.
