Developer unveils more plans for Ward
The master plan for Honolulu's Ward Centers could include up to 4,300 residential units along with retail and commercial space.
General Growth Properties presented its final 20-year master plan for the 60-acre property in Kakaako to the Hawaii Community Development Authority on Wednesday. The developer unveiled its preliminary plan for the Ward properties back in February, saying it wanted to develop the area into a leafy urban neighborhood of homes, shops and restaurants.
The final 136-page plan gives a more detailed description of General Growth's vision for a live-work-play neighborhood with green space and public plazas. The state agency has 200 days to review the proposal.
The residential component would include housing for mixed-income levels, with some 800 units reserved for families with moderate income of 140 percent above the median for Honolulu.
Several high-rise towers are planned, which could be residential or commercial depending on the market, said Jan Yokota, General Growth's vice president of development for the Hawaii region.
The number of residential units is the maximum that would be built; the actual number would change according to market conditions, she said. If the HCDA approves the plan, construction on the first phase could start as soon as 2010, she said.
"If the market conditions are right then we would start designing the first phase, which would take a couple of years, then build out the first phase, which would take two to three years," she said instant cash advance.
The first phase would include part of a large central plaza, along with some retail and residential units. The location for the first phase would very likely be the site of the Ward Farmer's Market and the warehouses behind it.
The plan calls for an eventual mauka-makai corridor that would open up views to Kewalo Basin. The old structures on the land can be replaced with public parks to create new views for the new residential towers, Yokota said.
"Ward today is a mixture of older buildings that occupy land that could better serve the community as a new urban neighborhood with open spaces and plazas," she said. "The residential towers will be designed to enhance views of the mountains and sea while also creating new open spaces where people can enjoy the outdoor environment."
Auahi Street would be redeveloped into a leafy, tree-lined pedestrian-friendly boulevard lined with shops, restaurants, entertainment and homes. The plan also calls for a minimum of 9,600 parking spaces, but Yokota said feedback the company has received during community meetings indicates people are warming to the idea of living in an urban neighborhood where a car may not be necessary.