The old Ward Centre block in Kakaʻako is about to become one of the busiest construction sites in town. On Sept. 28, Ward Village broke ground on two new residential towers, ʻIlima Ward Village and Melia Ward Village.
According to the Howard Hughes Communities announcement, the two buildings will add nearly 370 homes and about 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial and retail space to the 60-acre neighborhood between downtown and Waikīkī.
Two towers, two personalities
ʻIlima will have 148 homes over 33 stories. Melia will have about 220 homes over 35 stories. Howard Hughes is partnering with Discovery Land Company on the residential experience at ʻIlima.
Both buildings were designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, with AHL as local executive architect and VITA Planning & Landscape Architecture leading the landscape design. The architecture takes its cues from early 20th-century Honolulu landmarks like the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Alexander & Baldwin Building and the Dillingham Transportation Center, with shaded walkways, lanai, landscaped gardens and native plantings.
Buyers have already been lining up. "The strong response from buyers reflects their confidence in that vision," said Bonnie Wedemeyer, executive vice president of national condominium sales and strategy for Howard Hughes Communities. "Beginning construction is an important step in delivering on the commitment our team has made to our future residents."
Hawaii News Now reported that the towers have an anticipated opening in 2030.
Along with the towers, the project will build landscaped walkways linking the historic IBM Building with Ka Lei Park. VITA is designing a native botanical garden pathway that will connect the two buildings and lead from the IBM Building to the park. Howard Hughes restored the IBM Building in a $24 million project finished in 2015, and it will serve as a gateway to the new path.
"Alongside new homes and businesses, these projects will create landscaped connections between the historic IBM Building and Ka Lei Park," said Doug Johnstone, head of national development and president of the Hawaiʻi region for Howard Hughes Communities.
Clearing the way
Getting the site ready took some work of its own. Before redevelopment of the former Ward Centre block, three tenants, Kamitoku Ramen, Johnny's Dog Spa and Sweat + Soul, moved to renovated spaces elsewhere in Ward Village. Ward Village also worked with Re-use Hawaiʻi to salvage reusable materials from Ward Centre and to separate concrete, steel, asphalt and other materials for recycling and reuse. The company says that partnership has kept more than 870 tons of waste out of the landfill across earlier Ward Village projects.
That's a detail worth noticing for demolition contractors. When an owner asks for salvage and material separation as part of the job, it changes how a demo crew plans its work.
The groundbreaking also came with $30,000 in charitable gifts, $15,000 each to the Hawaii Architectural Foundation and Purple Maiʻa Foundation.
Ward Village has a track record of selling out. Howard Hughes says its first eight towers, Waiea, Anaha, Aeʻo, Ke Kilohana, ʻAʻaliʻi, Kōʻula, Victoria Place and Ulana Ward Village, sold out quickly. The company also notes the neighborhood is a LEED-ND Platinum-certified master planned community, a green building rating that applies to the neighborhood as a whole.
ʻIlima and Melia aren't the only towers going up at Ward Village. Howard Hughes says Kalae and The Launiu Ward Village are under construction now, and Mahana Ward Village is planned. That's a lot of high-rise work concentrated in a few blocks of Kakaʻako, all at once.
The announcement didn't name a general contractor for either tower, and we couldn't find one named in other free coverage.
Why it matters for Contractors
Two high-rise towers of 33 and 35 stories mean years of work for concrete and rebar crews, formwork carpenters, elevator installers, glazing and curtain wall contractors, waterproofing and roofing subs, and every MEP trade. Luxury condos also bring a long tail of finish work, from high-end cabinetry, stone and tile to custom millwork and fixtures, so finish contractors should keep these on their radar. The 20,000 square feet of street-level retail will need tenant improvements down the line, and the garden pathway brings landscaping and hardscape work too. With Kalae and The Launiu also underway and Mahana planned, Ward Village is a place where crews can find a steady run of jobs. Keep an eye out for the general contractor announcement and get your company in front of them early.