The Howard Hughes Corp. plans to submit plans to the Hawaii Community Development Authority early next year outlining plans for a mixed-use project with significant commercial space that would replace the existing Marukai Wholesale Market near the Ward Entertainment Center, the head of the state agency overseeing the redevelopment of the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako told PBN this week.
Anthony Ching, executive director of the HCDA, said that the agency expects to see plans for the project from the Texas-based developer in the first or second quarter of 2015. He declined to divulge any other details about the project.
David Striph, senior vice president of Hawaii for The Howard Hughes Corp., which is in the midst of developing its 60-acre Ward Village master plan, told PBN Tuesday that the company currently does not have any information to share about a potential project at the Marukai Wholesale Market location.
“We are pleased to be continuing the planning stages for phase two of Ward Village with our Ward Village Gateway and “Block M” projects, both of which move us towards our vision for an integrated neighborhood that provides a gathering place for all,” he said in an email to PBN.
Ward Village Gateway, which will replace the existing Ward Warehouse shopping center with a couple of high-rise towers and street-level commercial and recreational space, won approval from the HCDA late last month.
The developer’s “Block M” refers to the Whole Foods Market project at the site of the former Nordstrom Rack store and current Office Depot, which will include a residential tower as well as additional retail space.
The HCDA is holding a decision-making hearing on this project on Jan. 7 at noon at its office at 461 Cooke St. in Honolulu.
The Howard Hughes Corp. plans to redevelop Ward Centers in Kakaako into Ward Village over the next decade. The plan for the 60 acres includes adding 4,000 high-rise residential units and more than a million square feet of retail and commercial space, as well as open spaces and pedestrian-friendly streets.
Ward Village has received LEED Neighborhood Development Platinum certification, making the Honolulu project the nation’s largest LEED-ND Platinum-certified project and the only LEED-ND Platinum-certified project in the state.
The company has the development rights for 22 high-rises in Kakaako.
Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News