From affordable rentals to luxury condos, residential construction takes many shapes — and they’re all on the rise.
The number of permit applications for new residential buildings in Honolulu in 2024 is outpacing 2023, with year-to-date filings through August showing an increase of over 10 percent compared to the same eight-month period last year.
Inflation and high interest rates continue to generate headwinds for the industry in Hawai‘i and abroad, but efforts to streamline the permitting and construction process has demonstrably eased the burden, staving off a bigger slowdown — which is fortunate, as the state is in the midst of a housing crisis.
“Hawai‘i is such a supply-constrained market,” says Stanford Carr, founder and president of Stanford Carr Development LLC (SCD), “so we continue to work on policies, both on a county and state level — through each of the county councils … and with the Legislature — to develop more financing tools to assist in the development of more rental as well as for-sale housing.”
These tools take the form of legislative initiatives that ease regulations, give incentives to developers and provide long-overdue fixes to the permitting backlog, among other behind-the-scenes reforms enacted by city and state officials, elected or otherwise.
“The key factor that has allowed us to keep moving forward has been the support of elected officials and the community,” says Avalon Group Chief Investment Officer Ben Dookchitra.
“The Mayor, City Council, Legislature, Governor and neighborhood boards all have made housing a priority and we are honored to be in the position to implement these shared visions. We thank our elected officials for leading the way in rationalizing our building codes and streamlining the development process.”
Both SCD and Avalon have a wide-ranging slate of residential projects before them that will keep them busy for some time, while providing much-needed housing for all income levels.
“We usually have a lot of irons in the fire — we like it that way — and so we have a pretty good positive outlook in the future,” says Carr. “I mean, you look at the Honolulu skyline, for example, and you see the amount of cranes.
“I think the luxury market may be becoming a little saturated, but we stay out of that. We build for the demographics. So we’re building from low-income workforce rentals to entry level for-sale to more moderate housing.”
Carr also shared details about additional SCD projects currently under development:
MAUNAKEA TOWERS
“Right now we’re wrapping up a $33 million renovation of Maunakea Towers,” says Carr. “It’s a 32-story high-rise rental on Maunakea Street in Chinatown. … [we are] modernizing the elevators, upgrading all the common areas… new cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures, new windows, light fixtures, flooring, painting and more importantly, sprinklering the units for fire protection. … That should be all completed and buttoned down by October.” Maunakea Towers contains 379 one- and two-bedroom units and will accept tenants under the Section 8 Housing Assistance Program contract.
HALE MŌ‘ILI‘ILI
Hale Mō’ili’ili is a 23-story building that will be located next to Old Stadium Park on the site of the former Bowl-O-Drome. Carr expects to close financing on the $152 million project in late September and break ground shortly thereafter.
“[This] is the first Department of Hawaiian Home Lands high-rise,” says Carr. “It’s a 278-unit project of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.”
KAHUINA
Also in the works for SCD is Kahuina, 861 condominium units across two towers in Kaka‘ako, with 60 percent affordable rentals or for-sale units and the remaining going at market rate.
“It’s restricted to Hawai‘i residents, first-time home buyers not owning any other real estate,” says Carr. “And this is through the HHFDC [Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development] program.”
Avalon Group also has an ambitious slate of residential projects they are excited about, with a focus primarily in Honolulu. Of utmost importance, however, is community.
“Building housing for our community has been a steadfast commitment of our founder, Christine Camp, ever since she started Avalon 25 years ago,” says Dookchitra. “At Avalon, we have had employees leave for the mainland due to housing prices, so we know the importance of housing for all income ranges, including a ‘missing middle’ that is neither low-income nor luxury.”
MODEA
“Modea is the adaptive reuse of the Davies Pacific Center into a mixed-use property with residential condominiums, office and retail,” says Dookchitra. “We’re excited … because it will anchor the ongoing transformation of downtown Honolulu into a 24/7/365 community.”
Dookchitra points to the recent upturn in commercial activity in downtown Honolulu, as well as Hawai‘i’s community-mindedness as factors that are working in concert to be a proactive force for residential construction.
“We and our neighbors and fellow stakeholders proceed collaboratively and work to build upon each others’ successes,” he explains. “We … are collaborating to fund additional security, social service outreach, public events and other needs.”
ARIA LANE
“Aria Lane is a 93-unit residential development in Mānoa comprised of single-family homes and multifamily lofts,” Dookchitra continues. “We’re excited about Aria Lane because it will provide access to top-quality schools, parks and services for a broad range of families, including [those] who grew up in Mānoa [and] want to remain in the community.
“Avalon seeks to build what is needed, whether single-family homes in Mānoa today, condos in Hawaii Kai 10 years ago or workplaces in Kapolei 15 years ago.”
