Ward Village vision in Kakaako going on display

By Star-Advertiser staff

Nick Vanderboom, senior vice president of development for the Howard Hughes Corp, show a model of the company's plans to redevelop the 60 acres that is Ward Centers into a largely residential highrise community mixed with retail called Ward Village.
Nick Vanderboom, senior vice president of development for the Howard Hughes Corp, show a model of the company’s plans to redevelop the 60 acres that is Ward Centers into a largely residential highrise community mixed with retail called Ward Village.

Howard Hughes Corp., the developer of an envisioned 60-acre community in Kakaako called Ward Village with 22 condominium towers and retail, is showcasing that vision with a new sales and information center in the historic IBM Building.

The info center is slated to open by Friday, and includes an interactive scale model of Honolulu between Diamond Head and Sand Island, a small theater and historical exhibits created in conjunction with Bishop Museum that tell about the Ward property’s past back to pre-Western contact. A restaurant is also being built next to the info center, though an operator has yet to be selected.

Sales of condo units in the project’s first two towers began last month by appointment. Model units are built out on the IBM Building’s sixth floor.