On Friday they were sitting on plastic folding chairs on a hot and sometimes rain-soaked Kakaako sidewalk. Three years from now they could be living in a nearby luxury condominium tower where elevators open directly into private foyers of their million-dollar homes.
About 50 people lined up Friday on Cooke Street outside a sales gallery annex for Vida at 888 Ala Moana, a planned 262-unit tower with condos priced from $988,000 to more than $4 million.
Some of the would-be buyers, or their representatives, waited more than 12 hours before the developer handed out numbered tokens at about 2 p.m., allowing the group to save their place in line.
The 131 units reserved for owner-occupants will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis Saturday starting at 8 a.m.
"I packed my own toilet paper," said Jaymes Song, an agent with Better Homes & Gardens Advantage Realty who arrived at about midnight Thursday to be first in line. "You never know, right?"
Song, who didn’t have to use the toilet paper, said he was representing a couple of clients who count themselves among a loyal following of condo owners who have bought at other tower projects developed by the same team doing Vida: the Kobayashi Group and the MacNaughton Group.
The Honolulu-based firms developed Hokua in Kakaako, Capitol Place downtown and One Ala Moana at Ala Moana Center.
Vida, the developers say, represents a new generation of luxury high-rise living in Honolulu.
Among project amenities are an outdoor movie theater with a headset sound system, an indoor theater, two pools, a putting green, a wine tasting room, a private dining room, a community garden, a craft room, a game room, a workshop with tools, a whole floor of storage and workspace units, four guest apartments, a gym with a connected children’s play area and a fleet of bicycles and surfboards.
Monthly maintenance fees range from $1,319 at the low end for a 1,418-square-foot unit to $4,718 for a 5,073-square-foot penthouse.
One unique feature in Vida’s design is no hallways. The 39-story building is to be built with six elevators to serve eight units per floor. The elevators, each with two doors, provide exclusive access to individual condo entryways.
"It is the ultimate sign of luxury," said Bonnie Wedemeyer, Vida sales director. "It’s so private."
Wedemeyer said the developer priced Vida units so that they are less than current resale prices for units of comparable size at Hokua.
Buyers responded strongly to an earlier offer of 129 units, snapping up about 70 percent, or 90 units, in four days. Two penthouses have yet to be designed and are not yet priced or available for sale. The other 131 units to be sold starting Saturday are restricted to owner-occupants under Hawaii law.
The sales gallery, built in a warehouse with an alley entrance off Pohukaina Street, includes a model unit with a lobby area, elevator doors and a full two-bedroom unit including lanai glass doors opening onto a balcony area with a simulated view overlooking Kewalo Harbor and Diamond Head.
Construction is to begin in the fourth quarter, with completion in early 2018.
