The owner of Ward Centers has applied for a permit to build a sixth residential tower at its master-planned Ward Village community in Kakaako.
Howard Hughes Corp. has applied to the Hawaii Community Development Authority to develop a 466-unit tower connected with a Whole Foods flagship store on Kamakee Street between Queen and Halekauwila streets mauka of the Ward Entertainment Center theaters.
The tower and grocery store were previously announced by the developer, which said in its permit application that construction could break ground next year and be finished in 2017 for the retail portion and 2018 for the tower.
The HCDA, a state agency governing development in Kakaako, has scheduled three public hearings on the project for November and January.
The development plan calls for a Whole Foods store topped by six levels of parking and 1,301 parking stalls. The tower would be 38 stories, including retail on the ground floor.
| NOW HEAR THIS
» What: Three public hearings on new Kakaako tower at Queen and Kamakee streets
» When: Nov. 5 at noon (includes a detailed presentation about the plan) and Nov. 6 at 9 a.m.
» Where: HCDA’s office conference room at 461 Cooke St.
» Third hearing time: Jan. 7 at noon
» Third hearing location: HCDA’s new offices at 545 Queen St.
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Hughes Corp. indicated in May during an Ala Moana/Kakaako Neighborhood Board meeting that it intended to seek permits this year for the tower along with two others replacing part of Ward Warehouse and a fourth tower just Ewa of Ward Entertainment Center.
The Texas-based developer already has three towers with 915 combined units approved. So far, construction has started on one luxury tower, called Waiea, in which the grand penthouse is going for just under $100 million, according to one future resident who bought a unit in the building.
In the new permit application, the developer is seeking to deviate from five HCDA rules. Three requests are relatively minor, such as having yard space fronting the street that is 15 feet wide on average instead of a uniform 15 feet, and increasing how far a pedestrian shade canopy may extend into front yard space.
More major requested deviations are eliminating what is supposed to be a 75-foot view corridor setback for buildings fronting Queen Street, and allowing the parking structures to rise 75 feet and break the 45-foot limit binding the Hughes Corp. master plan.
The company said positioning the building close to Queen Street allows the wide sides of the building to be perpendicular to the mountains and ocean, thus preserving more public mauka-makai views. The company also said the parking structure height extension is only 10 feet more than the current limit and helps produce retail-fronting streets instead of a parking garage.
The first public hearing on the project will be Nov. 5 at noon and will include a detailed presentation about the plan.
A hearing to consider the requested rule deviations is scheduled for Nov. 6 at 9 a.m. A third hearing, at which the agency’s board is expected to make a decision, is slated for Jan. 7 at noon.
The first two hearings will be in the HCDA’s office conference room at 461 Cooke St. The third hearing is slated to be at new the HCDA’s new offices at 545 Queen St.
Anyone wishing to participate in the hearings as an intervenor with the ability to introduce expert witnesses and cross-examine experts retained by the developer must file a formal motion to do so with the HCDA by Oct. 9. Public testimony will be accepted at all hearings.
