Invested in our neighborhoods
By focusing on investing in our communities, we can make a positive difference for our customers, stakeholders, and the general public. As a leading developer of homes and mixed-use properties, we are dedicated to enhancing economic vitality in our markets and promoting affordable residential opportunities.
Līlia Waikīkī's impact
- 20 years since a new rental project
- 450+ rental units
- 20% affordable units, despite no requirements
A rental project accessible to all
Waikīkī, Hawaii’s lively tourism epicenter, is home to one of our newest mixed-use developments, Līlia Waikīkī. The 28-story residential tower is the first new rental project in Waikīkī in almost 20 years and features more than 400 residential units and 40,000 square feet of community-serving retail. Named after Hawaiian Queen Emma’s favorite flower, the lily, this exciting mixed-use development has helped to reinvigorate the local rental market and improve the quality of life for many area residents.
Waikīkī has long been synonymous with opulence and dazzling retail. Housing options for locals, however, have been short of spectacular. The estimated average rental property costs upwards of $2,000 per month for a one-bedroom unit, a factor that requires tens of thousands of people to commute to the area daily. To help address this problem and despite no affordable housing requirements tied to the development, we are committed to constructing 53 low-rise affordable units—the first units to be completed at Līlia Waikīkī. Following this construction, the anchoring high-rise tower will be delivered in late 2021. The tower will feature 38 additional affordable units plus 363 market-value units.
In total, the development will include 91 affordable housing units for residents. The tower will also be developed on top of a retail podium which will include a local grocery store, Food Pantry, which first opened in the area in the 1950′s and is the only remaining local chain grocer in Honolulu. We saw value in partnering with and preserving Food Pantry, recognizing the benefits that accessing fresh and nutritious food would bring to tenants and the local community.
A development rooted in community
Celebrating the project’s groundbreaking in September 2019, we teamed up with POW! WOW! Hawaii, a contemporary art non-profit dedicated to community enrichment, to create a mural honoring Queen Emma’s legacy. The mural brings Queen Emma’s passion for wellness, nature, and traditional Hawaiian crafts to life, and is symbolic of our aspirations for the design of Līlia Waikīkī to create a space for residents to plant roots in a community that values open space and a healthy lifestyle.
“Sustainability and community is our point of view, baked into everything we do. Who we choose to partner with. How we make decisions.”
Margaret Wu, Senior Vice President, People & Culture
