Kakaako developer Howard Hughes Corp. will soon begin selling homes in its next condominium tower at Ward Village and wants to sell can openers, wine glasses, furniture, pillows and bath towels with them.
The company gave a media preview of a by-appointment-only sales gallery that opens today for the tower called ‘A‘ali‘i.
Residences in the 42-story building will be dramatically different from the first six towers approved for Ward Village, in that the size of many of the 741 “premium” condos will be exceptionally small. About 200 studios range from 277 square feet to 373 square feet, with the smallest of those starting between $500,000 and $600,000.
Hughes Corp. is touting this newest tower as being efficiently designed for “smarter living.”
An example of this includes cabinets that serve as miniature closet spaces in studios where a wall bed can be pulled down over a small couch. In studio kitchens, refrigerators are just 24 inches wide and are concealed by paneling. Another feature is floor-to-ceiling cabinetry extending up to 9 feet.
The developer also is offering to sell furnishings and household goods in a package — about 60 items from cookware to linens — for “turn key” living.
“You can basically live in your new home from day one,” said Todd Apo, vice president of community development in Hawaii for Texas-based Hughes Corp.
The turn-key package, which for studios includes the interior wall containing the bed along with closet space and a fold-out desk, is available at an extra cost that was not available Wednesday.
Apo said part of what Hughes Corp. is trying to convey to prospective buyers is that the concept of smarter living includes residents making good use of common areas in the tower, such as a penthouse-level fitness center and communal dining rooms at ‘A‘ali‘i, as well as nearby shops, restaurants and a Whole Foods grocery in a neighboring tower slated to open near the end of this year.
“Clearly it’s a different concept and idea than what we may be living today,” he said. “Your home is no longer just about your four walls. It’s about the community around you. It’s about the amenities in the building.”
Hughes Corp. has a master plan to remake 60 acres of largely retail and industrial buildings into an urban neighborhood with 16 residential towers and 1 million square feet of retail space.
The first tower was Waiea, which opened in 2016 with units which sold for $3.6 million on average. A second tower called Anaha with average unit prices at $1.2 million opened last year.
Two other towers are under construction. One is Ae‘o where prices in 2015 averaged $1 million and ranged from $405,016 for the smallest studio with 409 square feet to $2 million for a three-bedroom unit with 1,331 square feet of living space. The other is Ke Kilohana, which is mostly reserved for moderate-income residents and is of a more modest design. Ke Kilohana prices ranged from $323,475 for one-bedroom units with 461 square feet of living space to $560,774 for three-bedroom units.
Two towers called Gateway are ultra-luxury projects, of which one has had units available for sale for about two years and recently had units priced between $1.5 million and $23 million.
At ‘A‘ali‘i, one-bedroom units as small as 430 square feet start in the $700,000s and two-bedroom units with about 830 square feet of living space start at about $1 million.
Commencing construction on ‘A‘ali‘i is dependent on the response from buyers but is expected to begin this year. Half the units in the tower are reserved for Hawaii residents who will own and occupy the residences. These units are expected to go on sale soon after a public notice.
