The evolution of downtown Honolulu is continuing, from post-COVID to hybrid work-from-home.
The neighborhood is pushing ahead with about half a billion dollars in real estate investments that are underway.
Foot traffic in downtown Honolulu is now three-quarters of what it was in 2019, according to data from the University of Toronto School of Cities. They analyzed mobile phone data from March to mid-June this year, relative to the same period in 2019.
The reality of remote work has, in the long run, changed downtowns more than the COVID-era lockdowns themselves.
What’s happening now is not recovery — but transformation.
Jamie Brown, president of Hawaiʻi Commercial Real Estate, told Pacific Business News that downtown projects totaling about $500 million are planned or underway with residential developments, office conversions and more.
These include the conversion of 1132 Bishop St. into workforce rental apartments by investment company Douglass Emmett, and Avalon Group’s redevelopment of the Davies Pacific Center into a mixed-use building with a sizable residential component.
Among the new investments is the AC Hotel by Marriott Honolulu.
This is a top-to-bottom conversion of the former Remington College building on Bishop Street into a 112-room business travelers’ boutique hotel.
When it opens in January 2024, the hotel will offer 2,500 square feet of event space, a fitness center, a speakeasy bar, lounge space and more.
Those workers who returned to their offices in the neighborhood will need to find new places for lunch and pau hana gatherings.
