Kamehameha Schools hosted a community preview event recently to give visitors a taste of what life could be like in Our Kaka‘ako.
More than 1,700 people explored the neighborhood to preview residential options and to learn about upcoming projects centered around the arts, culture, food and shopping.
“This one-time only event was the perfect opportunity for visitors to visualize how Kaka‘ako can be a place for them to live, work or play,” said KS Senior Asset Manager Christian O’Connor.
Attendees flocked to the Our Kaka‘ako Information Center on Keawe Street to find out more about the area and to see a vision of the community built completely out of Lego blocks. Many joined guided walking tours of neighborhood.
Other popular attractions included homeowner workshops at Kaka‘ako Agora on Cooke Street, Honolulu’s first urban parklet on Coral Street, and a pop-up sports bar on Auahi Street.
Independent developer information centers were open to the public, some for the first time, providing specific information about their envisioned for-sale residential projects.
“The streets were bustling with young couples, families, and retirees – all helping to bring to life what Our Kaka‘ako will feel like in a few short years,” said KS Marketing Manager Erin Kinney.
“This pedestrian-friendly community will include inviting green spaces, complete streets, parklets (like the one in front of Hank’s Haute Dogs) and other community amenities to connect Kaka‘ako’s past to its future.”
One of those amenities is SALT, a 76,000-square-foot retail complex that will be home to a diverse mix of entrepreneurial merchants and creative makers. The name SALT honors the natural salt ponds that once dotted the low-lying wetlands of the area.
Current makers such as Geoff Seideman of Honolulu Beerworks, Tamara Rigney and Courtney Monahan of Paiko, Matt and Roxy Ortiz of Wooden Wave and Ed Morita of Highway Inn are helping to build this community from the ground up.
Our Kaka‘ako is a vision by Kamehameha Schools to transform Kaka‘ako into a people-centric, urban neighborhood unlike any other in Hawai‘i that fosters new ideas, supports original voices, and empowers people to aspire.
The neighborhood encompasses nine city blocks and is bordered by Ala Moana Boulevard, Halekauwila Street, South Street and Ward Avenue.
To learn more about the Our Kaka‘ako master plan or to see the Lego model, visit the Our Kaka‘ako Information Center on Keawe Street, Monday – Friday between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. or make an appointment by emailing info@ourkakaako.com.
Photos by KS Photographer Michael Young. See more photos in the KS photo gallery.
Mahalo!
Mahalo nui loa to the employee volunteers who helped make the event an overwhelming success!
Andrew Okubo
Bob Oda
Catherine Nakamura
Christian O’Connor
Donna Lubong
Ellen Heu
Elsie Simpliciano
Erin Kinney
Grant Sumida
Jennifer Anderson
Kauʻi Burgess
Karen Hamacon
Kekoa Paulsen
Kirra Downing
Kristina Rau
Lori Bodine
Mary DeLapp
Millie Ho
Nadine Lagaso
Patti Rabacal
Advertising and Direct Marketing Specialist Kristina Rau and her husband Mark, greet guests and hand out tote bags of information.
Senior Asset Manager, Christian O’Connor led over 200 people on walking tours throughout the neighborhood.
Kamehameha staffers Karen Hamocon, Catherine Nakamura, Millie Ho, and Patti Rabacal manned the check-in tent.
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