An emerging condominium development boom in Kakaako got a lot bigger Tuesday, with the owner of Ward Centers announcing it will build 900 units in three towers — at the same time.

The project represents the biggest planned delivery of new high-rise condos by a single developer at once in Kakaako, and joins eight other condo towers either planned or under construction in or near Kakaako.

"The pent-up demand, we think, is great," said David Striph, senior vice president in Hawaii for the Howard Hughes Corp., the Dallas-based company that owns the 60-acre Ward Centers property.

The three towers are part of the first phase of a $7.5 billion Hughes Corp. master plan calling for 22 towers with up to 4,300 residential units replacing nearly all existing retail, warehouse and other buildings at Ward Centers over the next decade or more.

Ward Centers also will double the amount of retail space that exists now, to more than 1 million square feet from about 650,000 square feet, under the master plan dubbed Ward Village.

Hughes Corp. estimated that phase one’s work will have a $1.25 billion economic impact, including supporting 9,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Phase one is projected to break ground in 2014 and finish in 2016 if permitting approvals are granted by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency regulating development in Kakaako.

Two public hearings for each tower project will be held by the HCDA. The first is scheduled for June 19.

Prices for condo units in the three towers haven’t been set, Striph said. However, one of the towers will satisfy a state affordable-housing requirement with moderate price and buyer income limits.

For a family of four, the annual income limit ranges from about $85,000 to $120,000 under HCDA guidelines. Unit prices could be roughly between $400,000 and $500,000 and meet the guidelines.

The moderately priced tower with 415 units will be on Ward Avenue between Halekauwila and Ilaniwai streets. Sales are projected to begin in the second half of this year.

With unobstructed ocean views overlooking Ala Moana Beach Park and Kewalo Basin boat harbor, a roughly 200-unit tower makai of the Ward theater complex is expected to command prices that reach or exceed several million dollars.

The third tower is on the site of an existing Pier 1 Imports store, which will be relocated, and is slated for about 300 units.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who touts Kakaako as Oahu’s "third city" with dense residential development linked to the city’s planned rail system, praised Hughes Corp. for its plan during a ceremony Tuesday.

"This is master planning the way it’s supposed to be," he said. "I’m very, very optimistic about what’s going to be happening here."

Kakaako, for close to 40 years, has been envisioned by state planners to become a residential high-rise neighborhood. The 450-acre area bounded by Ala Moana Boulevard and King, Piikoi and Punchbowl streets once had a significant, albeit low-density, residential population before urban decay took hold and left a mix of largely industrial users and poor infrastructure which the HCDA has worked to transform into a place filled with condos, retail and green open space.

Hughes Corp. inherited its master plan from the prior owner of Ward Centers, General Growth Properties. The original plan was approved in 2009 and is valid until 2024. Hughes Corp. bought Ward Centers a year later as part of a bankruptcy reorganization of General Growth.

Under the plan, only the IBM Building, movie theaters and a new TJ Maxx building, soon to be joined with new sites for Nordstrom Rack and Pier 1 and connected to a parking structure, will not be redeveloped.

The Ward Centers master plan is one of two approved master plans providing for massive numbers of new condo units in Kakaako. Kamehameha Schools has the other. Its plan allows up to 2,750 residences on 29 acres Ewa of Ward Centers.

Other developers also have been busy with plans for towers on individual lots. In total, 11 towers with 3,700 condo units are slated for near-term development either in or just outside Kakaako, including the Hughes Corp. trio.

Of these, only two are under construction: the 206-unit One Ala Moana tower atop the Nordstrom store at Ala Moana Center, and the 341-unit Waihonua tower on Queen Street near Piikoi.

Two other towers are permitted: the 635-unit project called 801 South St., and the 388-unit Symphony Honolulu tower at the corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard.

Three towers are seeking permits: the 466-unit Collection project on the site of a former CompUSA store at the makai end of South Street, a 217-unit tower next to Imperial Plaza at the Ewa end of Waimanu Street, and the 128-unit Aloha Kai tower on the Central YMCA site on Atkinson Boulevard.

One other tower with 400 units has yet to seek permits but is planned as a second phase on the same site as 801 South.

In addition to the 11 condo towers, two rental apartment towers are in the works: the 204-unit Halekauwila Place tower under construction, and the 804-unit tower called 690 Pohukaina tentatively approved but not yet permitted.

Some observers question whether so many new homes in Kakaako can be absorbed by buyers and renters.

"There certainly are a lot of high-rise residential projects on the drawing boards," said Jeff Arce, a principal with local development firm The MacNaughton Group, which is developing the already sold-out One Ala Moana.

Arce said the industry has some self-regulation given that lenders generally require developers to presell a substantial number of units before construction may start. That could limit how many planned projects break ground if demand isn’t sufficient.

Still, a downturn that drives buyers out of the market can hurt projects in progress, which is what happened when the last market cycle shifted from an upswing to a downswing. Two projects under construction — Moana Vista and Allure Waikiki — failed during the last market cycle but were revived later by new owners.

"The question is always whether demand will keep up with the supply," Arce said. "You can’t actually predict a downturn, but you can definitely try to stay ahead of one that you know will come eventually. That is what is happening now."