The 28-story tower is the neighborhood’s first for-rent apartment development in decades and features studio apartments along with one-, two- and three-bedroom units and penthouses, plus 38,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

The project also preserves a large banyan tree on the premises.

Lilia Waikīkī was praised by CoStar Impact Award judges, including Mark D. Bratton, senior vice president at Colliers International, who described the property as “exactly what the community and resort [needs],” and Wendell Brooks, senior vice president at JLL, who hailed Lilia’s uniqueness, describing it as “the first of its kind in Waikiki” and a “well-built project.”

Jay Elicker, senior vice president at Commercial Asset Advisors, lauded Lilia´s aesthetics and locale, describing the project as having a “home-run location” and “beautiful.”

For Grant E. Howe, managing partner of Commercial Properties in Maui, it was Lilia’s affordable component that stood out—a sentiment many Waikīkī-area renters likely share.

Lilia Waikīkī was backed by Brookfield Properties executives Kris Hui, senior vice president of development; Blair Suzuki, director of development; Kaeo Kane, development manager; and Jeremy Shorenstein, senior development manager; as well as Benjamin Woo Architects President Masato Tochika.

— Andy Beth Miller