An Oahu construction firm is giving new life and a new look to a low-rise condominium project in Makiki that faltered about eight years ago after breaking ground.

Honolulu Builders LLC expects to resume work in the next few weeks on the five-story building now known as The Residence at Makiki, where 35 units are priced from $398,000 to $550,500.

About half the condos, which include 30 two-bedroom units with about 745 square feet of living space and five one-bedroom units with 540 square feet of living space, have been sold since sales started in June.

"We’re meeting with good success in the marketplace," said Tom Ryan, a Honolulu Builders principal along with Dan Jordan.

Originally, a Chicago-area developer set out to build a 44-unit condo called Pensacola Chelsea on the roughly 20,000-square-foot parcel at 1310 Pensacola St., about two blocks mauka of Kaiser Permanente, that was once occupied by a small cluster of homes and apartments.

That developer, Falahud Din Shams, bought the property for about $2.5 million in 2006 during Honolulu’s last real estate market boom and attracted an overwhelming response in 2007 from close to 200 prospective buyers who made reservations to buy units that ranged in size from 650 to 950 square feet at prices from $335,000 to $575,000.

Construction began on a foundation and garage but got hung up over a building encroachment issue. The problem was resolved after about a year, but by that time financial markets were coming unhinged and buyers withdrew.

Local developer Peter Savio made an attempt to revive the project by acquiring and refinancing the debt on the property in 2010, but lender Central Pacific Bank repossessed the land in 2011.

The bank sought competitive bids for auctioned the property in 2012, and Honolulu Builders made the high offer of $2.4 million. "We were fortunate to buy it," Ryan said. "There were a lot of people who wanted to buy it."

Honolulu Builders acquired the property via an affiliate and is developing the condo through a limited partnership called The Residence at Makiki LP.

The developer worked to redesign the condo, retaining local architectural firm Design Partners Inc. to give the building a less bulky and more colorful look.

"What was there just didn’t seem to make sense," Ryan said. "(It was) pretty ugly."

Project broker Kelly Suzuki-Shreve with Real Select International said the redesigned condo is providing a low-density option for new housing in Honolulu’s urban core.

"The local market is really happy," she said. "It’s not the traditional rectangle building in Makiki."