2 more high-rise
condo projects
proposed for Waikiki
The forest of high-rises lining the Ala Wai Canal could get a bit thicker if plans for a pair of separate residential towers take root.
A development partnership wants to build a 350-foot condominium tower with 212 units near the canal's Ewa terminus, while another party has formulated plans for a 26-unit development on Namahana Street.
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The larger project would be called Ala Wai Gateway and would feature 210 two-bedroom condos and two three-bedroom units. The developer, Irongate Ala Wai LLC, plans to build the project on six parcels reaching from Ala Wai Boulevard to Hobron Lane, an area now marked by weed-filled vacant lots and boarded-up three-story tenements.
Irongate Ala Wai owns two of the parcels and is in negotiations to buy most of the others, said Keith Kurahashi, a development consultant hired by Irongate. A tenement on Ala Wai Boulevard will be torn down to make way for the project, but most of the adjacent tenements will not be part of the development.
Kurahashi said the developer has submitted a draft environmental assessment on the project, which he will present tonight to the Waikiki Neighborhood Board at its monthly meeting. The area already is zoned for apartments and would requiring no zoning changes.
Recent high-rise development proposals for Waikiki have run into opposition from residents concerned by blocked views, and Kurahashi said he expected the same concerns to be raised tonight.
Rick Egged, executive director of the Waikiki Improvement Association, said he welcomed any quality plan for the area, though he had not yet seen the details of Ala Wai Gateway.
"That's definitely an area that could benefit from some redevelopment," he said.
The second project has been dubbed Royal Kahili Tower. The developer is Nichiei USA Inc., owner of the adjacent Royal Garden Hotel. The new 208-foot building would be built on three lots fronting Ala Wai Boulevard now used by the hotel as a lawn area.
Kurahashi, who also has been hired by Nichiei USA, said the lawn area was underused and that Nichiei USA was seeking a use for the area that would bring higher returns.
The building would feature 26 two-bedroom condos, with two units on each floor. Kurahashi said the area also is zoned for apartment construction.
