Core Tech Hawai‘i LLC, the local division of leading Guam developer Core Tech International Corp., underscored its entry into the Hawai‘i market with the August announcement of its new venture in Waikīkī.
436 Ena Road will be co-developed as affordable rental apartments by Core Tech Hawai‘i and partner EAH Housing for the City and County of Honolulu, says Dominic Jeon, Core Tech Hawai‘i vice president. The existing eight-story building has been vacant for the past two years.
EAH Housing, a nonprofit, develops and manages affordable rental housing in the western U.S. and Hawai‘i.
The partners were selected after submitting a proposal in March 2025 following the City’s announcement of its intention to redevelop its underutilized properties.
According to a recent posting by the City’s Department of Housing and Land Management, 436 Ena Road “will be developed under a long-term ground lease to provide deeply affordable rental housing in the heart of Waikīkī — one of Honolulu’s most competitive and supply-constrained housing markets.”
Jeon is spearheading Core Tech Hawai‘i’s current development plans and has led the company’s efforts in Hawai‘i since it registered with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in 2023.
Core Tech Hawai‘i’s first Hawai‘i housing development is Kauwela Apartments 1, an affordable rental project launched in September 2024 with the purchase of a property in Mō‘ili‘ili. The company is currently working on project permitting and financing.
“Core Tech Hawai‘i focuses on the developer role with affordable housing projects and general contractor role on federal projects,” Jeon notes. The company’s current federal projects in Hawai‘i are located at Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter.
Core Tech International, Core Tech Hawai‘i’s parent company, “is a Guam-based, multi-industry conglomerate. Its core businesses are real estate, finance and construction,” says Jeon.
“Core Tech is the largest real estate developer in Guam with a portfolio that includes a mix of residential, commercial and institutional assets,” he says. “Core Tech manages over 2,000 rental apartment units, as well as numerous commercial, governmental and educational facilities — a total of over eight million square feet.
“Core Tech has been physically operating in Hawai‘i for two years but has been working with NAVFAC Pacific and other federal offices in Hawai‘i for more than 20 years.”
Jeon says Core Tech International has longstanding ties with Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i-based companies, including through relationships with local banks and surety companies.
“It’s no secret that housing affordability continues to be a crisis for Hawai‘i. Housing production remains painfully slow,” Jeon says. “Because of Core Tech’s experience with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, our history of three decades of housing development in Guam and our construction experience in Hawai‘i, we believe that we can help make a difference with affordable housing here.”
Core Tech Hawai‘i is headquartered at 55 Merchant Street, Suite 1820, in Honolulu.
