StarAdvertiser-article

August 31, 2015

New 42-unit Kailua apartment building in the works

The project, on land fronting Kawainui Marsh in Kailua, is projected to break ground in June

By Andrew Gomes

A developer plans to build 42 rental apartments on vacant land fronting Kawainui Marsh in a Kailua neighborhood that includes a mix of single-family homes and small apartment buildings.

The estimated $8 million project is proposed for a 24,593-square-foot parcel at the end of Kihapai Place and is projected to break ground in June if approvals including a special management area use permit are obtained.

Details of the plan were presented in a draft environmental assessment published Aug. 24 by the state Office of Environmental Quality Control.

Kihapai Hui LLC, a company led by developers Tyler Greene and Chad Waters, is buying the parcel from its longtime owner and produced the draft environmental assessment.

The development firm, which also involves Jonah Kogen of Hillside Realty and Development, has a deal to buy the property from a company managed by Gail Patrick Pao Berengue and Sylvia Ann Pao Kruse.

According to the environmental assessment, the property was once partly occupied by a two-story building with nine rental apartments built in 1959 and demolished in 2005.

Kihapai Hui's plan is to build a four-story building named Kihapai Place Apartments with 42 one-bedroom rentals above a surface parking lot with 58 stalls. The company said construction would involve building a retaining wall that redirects runoff away from the marsh toward the street.

The site, along with other parcels on Kihapai Place, is zoned for medium-density apartment use and would fit in with neighboring properties that include single-family homes, duplexes and nine apartment buildings, according to the draft environmental assessment.

The height limit for the property is 40 feet. The proposed building would rise 40 feet and be topped by a 3-1/2-foot parapet ringing a rooftop occupied by photovoltaic panels and a recreation area. The developer said the added height from the wall along the roof's edge is an allowed safety feature under the city zoning code.

If construction begins in June, project completion is expected 12 months later.

Greene and Waters could not be reached for comment. Kogen was reached but deferred comment to his partners.

Greene and Waters, whose companies include The Green Waters Group and Bridge Real Estate Hawaii, are involved in projects that include an ongoing effort to redevelop the Coco Palms Resort on Kauai, building a 24-home subdivision called Ka'ala Highlands on the edge of Wahiawa town, building a cluster of 20 homes called Waikalua Bayside in Kaneohe and building an agricultural subdivision with 23 homes called Olomana Heights in Kailua.

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