Update on The Symphony Honolulu in Kakaako

Developer Oliver McMillian announced that they have sold 73 percent of the units in The Symphony Honolulu, which is located in Kakaako.  This equates to 285 units out of the 388 total available units in the building.  The building, which is located on the northwest corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard has already gone vertical and is expected to be completed in 2016.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 6-6-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Symphony Honolulu Holds Groundbreaking and Blessing Ceremony

Construction for the new Symphony Honolulu tower is finally underway after the developer OliverMcMillan held a groundbreaking and blessing ceremony on the site.  The 45-story condominium tower is located on the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and Ward Avenue and will have a total of 388 units when it is completed. So far, approximately 200 units of the 288 units that were initially released by the developer have sold at prices ranging from $500,000 to $3 million.  The developer has also released 100 units in September for buyers with moderate incomes. A total of 40 units have sold out of this second release.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 11-21-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
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Symphony Honolulu Secures $120 Million Construction Loan

Oliver McMillan, the developer for the Symphony Honolulu, has announced that they have secured a $120 million construction loan.  The project is located on the corner of Kapiolani Blvd and Ward Avenue in Kakaako.  The high rise condominium will have a total of 288 market-priced units and 100 units set aside for "moderate income" families.  Construction is expected to begin this month and is expected to be completed in late 2015.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 11-11-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Symphony Honolulu Sells 70 percent of Units Released

Developer OliverMcMillan has announced that they have sold almost 70 percent of the 288 units released in the Symphony Honolulu.  The 45-story tower is located on the corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard across from the Neal Blaisdell Center.  A total of 100 units are still be held for a later release sometime this fall for "moderate-income" residents through a lottery system.  If sales continue at its current pace, construction of the building will begin at the end of this year and should be completed by the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016.  Dan Nishikawa, the president of OliverMcMillan's Hawaii office, stated, "The response to our project indicates there is a strong demand for homes in the core of Hono­lulu."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-2-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Symphony Honolulu Condominium - Overview and Opinion

The following is an overview and opinion from Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, licensed REALTOR® in the state of Hawaii.  Jeff Uyemura-Reyes is the Broker-in-Charge and CEO of Global Executive Realty, LLC, a residential real estate firm in Honolulu.

The Symphony Honolulu is a new condominium project (888 Kapiolani Boulevard) that will be built on the north-west corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard in Kakaako, directly across from the Neal Blaisdell Event Center.  The building features 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom units.  For the latest availability and price, click .

The property is being marketed as a luxury condominium with fantastic views in all directions.  While this is true, it should be noted that the Howard Hughes corporation is planning to build a new moderate-income condominium at 404 Ward Avenue, which would be approximately three or four blocks closer to the ocean, directly in front of the Symphony Honolulu.  The 404 Ward building will not block all of the Symphony's ocean views, but it would take away a section of it.  There is also discussion of the possibility of building a 700 foot tall tower over the Neal Blaisdell Event Center.  Please note that this is still only in the earliest stages of discussion and plans may change.

One item that potential buyers should be aware of, is that the Symphony Honolulu will be releasing 100 units later this summer or fall as "moderate-income" housing.  These units will be sold on a lottery basis to people who make less than 140% of the median income for the Honolulu neighborhood.  The buyers for the "moderate income" housing must not have had any primary interest in real property over the last three years and must commit to living in their Symphony Honolulu unit for five years after competition.  The "moderate income" units will cost less than their counterparts, but will also have not as nice fixtures in their units.

The sales team at the Symphony Honolulu were quick to point out that "moderate income" is not the same as "affordable housing".  For a single person, 140% median income is approximately $85,000 per year.  For a family of four, the maximum median income is approximately $115,000 per year.

An interested Buyer would have to put down 5% of the purchase price with their initial offer.  They would then have 30 days to review all of developer's public report.  Upon acceptance of the public report, the Buyer would have to put down an additional 5% (10% total).  This money becomes firm and binding.  The Buyer would have to place a final 5% down (15% total) on November 1, 2013.  The balance of the down payment can be made when the project is completed in the beginning of 2016.

My personal opinion on the building is that it is in an excellent location and priced fairly given today's improving real estate market conditions.  A potential Buyer should be made aware of all the other condominiums being built in the Kakaako neighborhood and understand how these buildings may affect your view from the Symphony Honolulu.  Finally, a Buyer needs to feel comfortable with the fact that this building will have both luxury condominium units and "moderate income" units in the same tower.

Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Symphony Honolulu Sales Start Strong

According to Developer OliverMcMillan, 194 of the 288 available units in the Symphony Honolulu have already gone into contract.  (It should be noted that a previous news article stated that 130 units were reserved by people connected with the sales teams and developer prior to the initial release on June 15, 2013).  The project Symphony Honolulu is located on the North-West corner of Ward and Kapiolani Boulevard and is being marketed as a luxury condominium.  There will be another 100 units that will be made available under the state's affordable-housing program at the end of this summer or early this fall for "moderate-income" residents.  This will take place through a lottery system.

Dan Nishikawa, the president of the local affiliate of San Diego-based OliverMcMillan, stated, "The response to our project indicates there is a strong demand for homes in the urban core of Honolulu.  People want to live close to their jobs so they can walk more and drive less."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 6-18-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Sales Begin for the Symphony Honolulu in Kakaako

The Symphony Honolulu in Kakaako has opened their sales office today.  The property is located on the corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard, directly across from the Neal Blaisdell Center and will feature 388 units priced between $500,000 and $3 million.  One bedroom units will start at about 672 sq ft and the largest three bedroom units would have about 2,000 sq ft in size.  Only 160 units will be available for purchase at this point.  Approximately 130 units have already been reserved by people connected with the sales team.  A final 100 units will made available by lottery through the state's affordable housing program later this summer or early this fall.

The 43-story building will also have a restaurant, a cafe, and automobile dealership which will feature the Audi line as well as exotic cars like the Ferrari and the Bentley.  Construction is expected to begin by the end of this year and will finish approximately 25 months from when construction starts.  It is estimated that there will be 400 construction jobs generated by the Symphony Honolulu and an additional 100 permanent jobs will be added upon completion thanks to the new auto dealership.  The sales office is inside Inspiration Furniture store a few blocks away on Kapiolani Boulevard.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 6-15-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Symphony Honolulu Tower Granted Exemption

OliverMcMillian, the developer for the Symphony Honolulu Tower in Kakaako, has been granted an exemption allowing them to build their condominium with additional ocean views.  The current rule, which was inacted in November 2012, required any new buildings in the neighborhood to have their broadest portions to be built parallel to the major mauka-makai (mountain-ocean) streets.  This rule was designed to help preserve the view channels of current buildings and houses.  However, yesterday the Hawaii Community Development Authority granted the Symphony Honolulu Tower a variance in a 10 to 1 vote.

According to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, they had received 117 letters of support for the variance and only 14 letters in opposition.  Some of the letters in support noted that if the developer was required to follow the current rules, it would put place too much burden on the developer.  It was noted that the Symphony would also include moderately priced units in their building, something that would be less feasible if they didn’t have better view channels for more expensive units.  Additional letters of support noted that the building of the Symphony Tower would be a great improvement over having an undeveloped lot on the corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard.  They argued that the developer may not wish to go forward with the project if an exemption was not given.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-3-2012, www.staradvertiser.com

Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®

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Symphony Tower Developer Request Exemption

Oliver McMillan, the developer of the new Symphony Tower, which will be located on the corner of Kapiolani Blvd and Ward Avenue, is requesting an exemption regarding the direction of where the building would face.  Under the current state rule, the long side of the tower must be parallel to Ward Avenue with a maximum of 20 degrees of deviation to reduce the impact of mountain and ocean views for other properties surrounding the site.  This requirement was set in place for the dense high-rise developments of Kakaako to protect view channels.  The appeal is being made to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, and a variance is being requested for the $380 million luxury condominium project.

One concerned resident, Michelle Matson, stated her opinion against the developer and noted, ”When you crack the door open to variances that are counter to public policies and regulations, how many more times do you go through that before policies and regulations mean nothing?  These developers always seem to contrive reasons to run counter to policies and benefit their own interests. They should reduce the size of their project.”

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 4-30-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
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Seven New Residential Towers Planned in Honolulu

A recovering real estate market on the island of Oahu has created a new push by developers to plan the construction of a total of seven high rise residential condominiums for Honolulu.  The first building to be built will be a 340-unit tower in Kakaako named Waihonua.  Alexander & Baldwin is the developer for Waihonua and has already started to accept nonbinding reservations.  Chris Benjamin, who is in charge of Alexander & Baldwin’s real estate division, stated, “We’re encouraged by the positive response we’re seeing.”  Construction for Waihonua is expected to start by the end of 2012.

The Symphony project was also recently announced by developer OliverMcMillan in partnership with local landowner Joe Nicolai.  They are hoping to build a 400-unit residential tower across the street from the Neal Blaisdell Center on the corner of Ward and Kapiolani.  The partnership is still waiting for state approval, but has stated that once that is given, sales would begin as early as the summer of 2012.

The MacNoughton Group will be co-developing a tower to be built over the Nordstrom parking garage at the Ala Moana Center.  The time table to build this 210-unit residential tower has not been announced, but a company spokesperson has stated that they would like to begin sales before Thanksgiving.

There are a total of four other towers that are being considered.  Two buildings may be built on the location formerly used by the Honolulu Advertiser in Kakaako.  California developer Jason Grosfeld has purchased a lot in Waikiki which is still zoned for high-rise condominium development.  Finally, Alexander & Baldwin also has stated that they would be interested in building a tower on the corner of South Street and Ala Moana Boulevard in Kakaako which was once occupied by CompUSA.  Alexander & Baldwin did clairfy that they would prefer to finish the sales in their Waihonua building prior to making plans to build another high-rise building.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 2-26-2012, www.staradvertiser.com

Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor

Global Executive Realty, LLC

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Potential New “Symphony” Condominium Tower to Be Built on Corner of Ward and Kapiolani

OliverMcMillan, a San Diego developer, and Joe Nicolai, a local landowner, have announced that they would like to build a new luxury condominium tower on the corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard.  The building would be named “Symphony” inspired by the neighboring Blaisdell Center the long time home of the Honolulu Symphony.  The Honolulu Symphony officially disbanded in 2009, but the Blaisdell will now house the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, which will host its first concert on March 4.

An application has already been submitted to the Hawaii Community Development Authority to obtain a permit which would allow a 400 foot high tower to be built.  If permits are given, OliverMcMillan would like to start selling units in the summer of 2012 and begin construction by the end of the year.  The development director for OliverMcMillan, Dan Nishikawa, stated, “There was already some good branding for that property.  I think there’s a lot of positive recognition from the location standpoint. It’s going to be a premier building.”

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 2-21-2012, www.staradvertiser.com

Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor

Global Executive Realty, LLC

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