A proposed project that would overhaul a part of the Ala Moana Shopping Center to add a 38-story hotel, as well as more than 200 residential units, is moving through the Honolulu City Council.
The project, 1588 Ala Moana, would replace an existing parking structure in the shopping center. About 35% of the residential units would be considered affordable housing units for families earning 80% or below the area median income for the next 30 years, which would be $123,200 annually for an average family of four.
The city’s Department of Planning and Permitting reviewed the project this past July, sending it to the council’s Zoning and Planning Committee for approval.
But many are questioning if the proposed affordable units would actually be accessible to local working families, including Honolulu resident Cassie Sun.
“Who is it really affordable for? This development is a hotel that will only bring more congestion and traffic around a public park where already fewer and fewer local families gather, because only wealthier families and foreigners can afford to stay and play around Ala Moana,” Sun said.
“Ala Moana used to feel like a local place for us to gather and shop. Building another hotel there will only make it less accessible for kamaʻāina, who have been most loyal and consistent patrons of this mall since it was first built."
Beyond affordability, those who oppose the project brought up the impact on traffic in an already congested area, the lack of existing parking in the mall, and the overall impact of adding another high-rise to the city’s skyline.
But dozens of residents also testified in strong support of the project for its development plan and job creation. Kobayashi Group LLC, the project’s developer, which also managed Parkway Village at Kapolei, said this development could add 6,000 construction jobs to the local workforce.
Matthew Mehau-Chung is with the Hawaiʻi Regional Council of Carpenters.
“These are steady jobs for us local people and helps us provide a living for us here at home,” Mehau-Chung said. “And when the workers spend their money, it's just a constant cycle of us just helping each other out. This project is a long-term investment that pays off year after year.”
The project would add a 400-foot hotel containing nearly 300 units, a 17-story tower with 205 residential units, and a five-story building for lobbies, residential and commercial use.
Developers said the timeline is unclear, but council approval will allow them to move into the permitting process, which should help determine an estimated completion time.
The project's conceptual plan was adopted by the committee and will next be heard by the full council.
