The construction boom in Kakaako now appears to have shifted to Ala Moana. The already busy area near the shopping center could be seeing as many as eight new high rises in the coming years.

There’s a lot of changes happening on busy Kapiolani Boulevard alone. A real estate broker tells us he’s seeing a new shift of luxury products in Kakaako to more affording housing in Ala Moana. 

Businesses have closed and high rises are going up. An industry expert tells us as many as eight new buildings could be popping up from Piikoi Street to the Hawaii Convention Center. All located near the planned Ala Moana rail station. 

“What the city has decided to do is Transit Oriented Development around the station. So what you’ll see is a range of new residential developments and commercial spaces,” said Principal Broker for Seven Signatures Isaiah Block. 

Two projects will be completed soon, including Kapiolani Residences, which is right across the street from 24 Hour Fitness. It’s 45 stories with 484 units. Majority of the projects are still in the pre-building stages.

We looked into the impacts this may have on the community and reached out to the Ala Moana/Kakaako Neighborhood Board.

“Our primary concern was that there was no issue with noise during construction or issue of disruption of businesses during construction,” said Board Chair Ryan Tam. “Some of the board members expressed concerns with making sure there was enough affordable housing for example and enough transportation access, but generally these buildings, for a large part, they are zoned properly.”

We asked Block what’s his response to people who might be worried that there is going to be more traffic on Kapiolani or around the area?

“I would say the concern about traffic and congestion, that could be addressed with the rail station coming in,” answered Block. 

Some of the project plans include affordable units along with market-priced and hotel units. 

“Most of them you will see a percentage of affordable housing inventory within each building, so there will be options for workforce buyers,” said Block. 

“Our board has had a big concern with the types of activities that are occurring on Kapiolani Boulevard,” said Tam, “the transformation of the area, the idea of new development, kind of clean up the area, will definitely benefit the community.”

For more information about these proposals, click here.