New Housing Is Rising Along the Rail Line

The biggest new housing project already underway along the Skyline route is Ho‘opili, on 1,550 acres in West O‘ahu makai of H-1 and Farrington Highway and just east of UH West O‘ahu. A total of 11,750 homes are planned – both single- and multi-family units – about a third more homes than in all of Waipahu, which sits east of the new housing project.

Developer D.R. Horton says 2,700 families have already moved into finished homes in Ho‘opili, and the rail line is one of the big draws.

Now that the first 10 miles of Skyline is running, we update you on new housing along the entire route and what’s being planned. The concept and selling point is called transit-oriented development, or TOD. | Photo: Aaron Yoshino

“We have noticed an increase in interested homebuyers exploring new lifestyle opportunities that transit-oriented development provides,” says Tracy Tonaki, division president for D.R. Horton Hawai‘i.

The development has its own Skyline station called Honouliuli and nearby Keone‘ae station at UH West O‘ahu has a transit hub where riders can catch buses to Mākaha, Wai‘anae, Kapolei, Makakilo, ‘Ewa Beach, Waipahu, Wahiawā, Pearl City, ‘Aiea, Kalihi and Downtown Honolulu. Ho‘opili’s newest condominium project, Nahele, is one block from the Honouliuli station, which has a park-and-ride facility.

Transit-oriented developments give “people a different option – a different lifestyle – by having everything conveniently located nearby,” says Tim Streitz, acting TOD administrator for the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting. And it allows people to have “the freedom to choose how to get around,” whether that be walking, biking, driving or public transit.

“We don’t expect that it (TOD) will completely eliminate cars, but it is intended to provide more transportation options so that you don’t have to be completely reliant upon cars,” Streitz says.

Along with single-family homes, Tonaki says, the long-term plan for Ho‘opili includes high-density mixed-use spaces with ground-floor commercial outlets like restaurants, retail shops and offices paired with residential units above. There are plans to build five schools in the area.

Revitalizing the Community

Multifamily housing being built next to the Honouliuli Skyline station is part of the Ho‘opili development, which is projected to include 11,750 homes at full buildout. | Photo: Aaron Yoshino

Six miles east of Ho‘opili is Pouhala, a combined rail and bus station also known as the Waipahu Transit Center, which is next to 3.8 acres of land owned by Kamehameha Schools. KS is partnering with Highridge Costa, a mainland-based developer that specializes in affordable housing, to create a project there called Keawalau at Waipahu.

The overall plan is for 537 units of affordable housing, to be built in three phases along Kahuailani Street, Waipahu Depot Street and Hikimoe Street. An 18-story tower and a 19-story tower for families will be on the makai end of the property, and a seven-story building slightly mauka will serve kūpuna. The units will be rented to working residents with rents set to be affordable to households making 60% or less of the area median income, according to Highridge Costa.

“This is an intergenerational affordable housing development that serves kūpuna, serves the young people and serves families as well,” says Moe Mohanna, president of Highridge Costa Development Co.

The project features shopping, dining and working opportunities for new residents, and is just steps away from the bus and Skyline hub. While most of the development will be housing, Mohanna says, Keawalau will also have 50,000 square feet of space for shops, services and restaurants.

In the meantime, there will be disruption. Times Supermarkets announced last year that its Waipahu store will close and be demolished when construction of Keawalau starts. Don Quijote, which has the same owner as Times, also announced plans to eventually close its Waipahu store, which is next to the West Loch Skyline station.

Kamehameha Schools says it reached out to all commercial tenants in the area, including Times Supermarkets, and encouraged them to come back and rent in the new space. KS also hopes to preserve most of the local businesses and mom and pop shops, Mohanna says.

The project is expected to create 300 to 400 local jobs, including temporary construction jobs and permanent ones. Mohanna says the project will add about $290 million to the economy, including construction costs and impact fees that will go toward improving local schools and infrastructure.

Highridge Costa and KS spent two years doing “extensive community outreach” for the project, and faced pushback early on, Mohanna says. But when in-person public meetings resumed after the height of the pandemic, the turnout was large, he says, with an “overwhelming amount of support from the community that said, ‘We need this housing.’

“That was very rewarding for us because that’s our goal – we want to do what’s good for the community in the long run,” says Mohanna.

“Activating a space is a catalyst to change an area, and that’s what this combination of mixed-use residential, as well as commercial, is doing.”

There is no timeline yet for construction. The Honolulu City Council approved Keawalau at Waipahu in January 2023 and the project received all its entitlements, but Mohanna says Highridge Costa must reapply for funding this year to help cover the costs of the project.

Other Westside and Central O’ahu Projects

UH West O‘ahu has multiple TOD-related projects planned and in feasibility stages. One project involves the development of about 180 acres of university district land. According to the state Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, the vision for this project is to create a “vibrant, sustainable mixed-use community that will be integrated and complement the UHWO campus.”

The university was also awarded $250,000 in state funding to study TOD near its campus. The grant lets the UHWO study the revenue generating potential for its non-campus lands in East Kapolei. There is approximately 200 acres of land located to the east and south of campus.

A view from Skyline’s Keone‘ae rail station shows The Element, an apartment complex with affordable rentals that opened in 2020. Nearby is UH West O‘ahu. | Photo: Aaron Yoshino

The state departments of Hawaiian Home Lands and Land and Natural Resources also plan to create more housing and mixed-use developments near the first two Skyline stations, Kualaka‘i and Keone‘ae.

And then there’s the Aloha Stadium Entertainment District project near the Hālawa Skyline station, which will transform the now-closed stadium and its surrounding area into a multipurpose community that includes homes, commercial and recreational space, an entertainment hub and enhanced transit facilities. The project has stalled multiple times in recent years, but the current timeline has a new stadium opening in time for the 2028 UH football season, according to stadium officials.

The Honolulu Planning Commission has recommended the rezoning of 227 acres in the area and the state Legislature has currently allocated about $420 million for the project.

Last year, construction began on a new low-income rental housing tower near the Hālawa Skyline station. The high-rise is expected to be done by summer 2025 with 302 rental units priced so as to be affordable for households earning 60% or less of the area median income, according to the developer, Halawa View Housing Partners LP.

Projects Planned for Honolulu’s Core

Streitz, the city’s acting TOD administrator, says multiple projects are planned for Chinatown, Downtown, Kaka‘ako and the Ala Moana area, and high-rise condominiums called The Park on Ke‘eaumoku and The Sky Ala Moana are under construction now.

Once rail reaches town, Streitz says, more people will see the benefits of public transit and TOD.

“It’s going to be really eye-opening to the public to finally see what TOD is really about when you get to actually get off and explore, having that sense of freedom of not having to drive everywhere,” he says.