Kakaʻako is a commercial and

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

district of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi between

Ala Moana Ala Moana (meaning ''path to the sea'' in Hawaiian) is a commercial, retail, and residential district of Honolulu, Hawaii. It is located between Waikiki and Moiliili to the east, and Kakaako and Honolulu Harbor to the west. King Street, to th ...

near Waikīkī to the east and

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

and

Honolulu Harbor Honolulu Harbor, also called ''Kulolia'' and ''Ke Awa O Kou'' and the Port of Honolulu , is the principal seaport of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii in the United States. From the harbor, the City & County of Honolulu was developed and urbanized ...

to the west. Kakaʻako is situated along the southern shores of the island of

Oʻahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

, Hawaii.

History

Kakaʻako was once a thriving Native Hawaiian community with agricultural terraces where Hawaiian royalty once lived. Kamehameha I had a residence with his family and personal kahuna and chief adviser Hewahewa. Hawaiians used the region for fishpond farming, salt making, wetland agriculture and human burials, according to Cultural Surveys Hawaii, which did several reports on the area. Through recent development projects many locations have unearthed ancient Hawaiian burials (

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

) thought to be scattered throughout the district. One area in particular, the Honuakaha Smallpox Cemetery, has more than a thousand Iwi. In 1976, Kakaʻako was an industrial district under city control. It got caught in a political feud between then-Mayor Frank Fasi and then-Gov. George Ariyoshi. Hawaii lawmakers founded

Hawaii Community Development Authority Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is ...

(HCDA) in April 1976 as a way to prevent Fasi from using Kakaʻako as political leverage against Ariyoshi. The agency produced editorial opposition from local papers.

Modern day

The civic centers of Kakaʻako are

Victoria Ward Centers Ward Centers, formerly known as Victoria Ward Centers, is a shopping complex near Waikiki at Kaka'ako in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Ward Centers is a retail hub as host to Ward Entertainment Center, Ward Centre, Ward Farmers Market, Ward Gateway Center, ...

and the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. On the ocean side is the

John A. Burns School of Medicine The John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) is part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and is located on the island of O‘ahu, approximately three miles west of the university's Mānoa campus. The school was named after former Hawaiia ...

, part of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The main roads through Kakaʻako are

Ala Moana Boulevard Route 92 is a major east–west highway on the island of Oahu which begins at exit 15 off Interstate H-1 (H-1) in Honolulu and ends east of the Ala Wai Canal crossing in Waikiki. The western portion, west of Richards Street, is locally kno ...

and Kapiʻolani Boulevard. In recent years, the area has been diversifying by adding more residential development. HCDA is planning for up to 30 new buildings to be constructed in the area. The plans have produced protests by residents. HCDA rules allow buildings up to 400 feet high. Kakaʻako's proposed transit-oriented development plan would permit some towers to reach 700 feet, twice as high as the city’s building height limit. Developers can skip the

Hawaii Land Use Commission Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and

Honolulu City Council Honolulu City Council is the legislature of the City and County of Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawai'i, the fiftieth state in the United States. The City and County of Honolulu is a municipal corporation that manages government asp ...

. HCDA staff reviews proposals and its governor-appointed board has approval authority. In 2005, opposition group "Save Our Kakaʻako Coalition" protested Alexander & Baldwin's plans to build waterfront residential towers known as Kakaʻako Makai, leading the Legislature to effectively kill the project. On 8 March 2014, the coalition rallied to protest against the proposed plans to develop residential homes alongside Kakaʻako's waterfront. The coalition feared that access to the waterfront would be limited and warranted only to residents of the new development, ultimately depriving the Hawaiian people access to this resource and thus violating both Hawaiian law and custom. Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) trustee Peter Apo assured the public that OHA has no intentions of developing high-rises alongside Kakaʻako Makai. Apo added that if OHA did indeed conduct development in that area, it would betray the values and the people they serve. Lela Hubbard, member of Save Our Kakaʻako, claimed that OHA is only in it for the money.Kirk Matthews,
Save Our Kakaako Coalition Rallies against Proposed Development
” KHON2, 8 March 2014, retrieved on 14 November 2014.

Our Kakaʻako

"Our Kakaʻako" is a residential and commercial project led by

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

and Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaiʻi Inc. that aims to improve Hawaiʻi's urban-island lifestyle. The $60 million project will add 183 homes to Kakaʻako, with 88 rental units to be developed by Kamehameha Schools and Castle & Cooke developing the remaining 95 units for buyers. The project will redevelop existing properties in Kakaʻako for residential and commercial space, as well as integrate mid-block pedestrian crossways, networked walking paths, complete streetscapes, green spaces, and unique retail experiences. Our Kakaʻako is estimated to take 15–20 years to complete.Holden Lau, �
Castle & Cooke, Kamehameha Schools Reveal $60 Million Kakaako Development Plan
” Kakaako.com, LLC., 28 February 2014, retrieved on 13 November 2014.�

,” Our Kakaʻako, Kamehameha Schools, 1 January 2014, retrieved on 14 November 2014.

Salt

"Salt" is one of the new developments of Kamehameha Schools' master plan, designed for locals and visitors to enjoy a cosmopolitan environment accompanied with green and open-air spaces. It will serve as a marketplace that includes a variety of local retailers and restaurateurs. In accordance to Kamehameha Schools' sustainability efforts, Our Kakaʻako plans to reuse existing warehouses and other structures to preserve the feel of Kakaʻako.�
Salt at Our Kakaʻako
,” Our Kakaʻako, Kamehameha Schools, 1 January 2014, retrieved on 13 November 2014. The development of Salt aims to cater to a larger and more creative demographic in the Kakaʻako area.Lori Jones and Christian O’Connor, �
Honolulu’s Urban Island Marketplace
,” Salt, Kamehameha Schools, 1 January 2014, retrieved on 13 November 2014.

Six Eighty

To continue their preservation efforts, Kamehameha Schools hired contractors to redevelop a previous office building and create "Six Eighty," an apartment structure named after its address at 680 Ala Moana Boulevard. Six Eighty is the first installment of Kamehameha Schools' nine-block master plan for Kakaʻako. It is an affordable housing complex that offers both studio and one-bedroom loft-style apartments. Each apartment comes with a 12-foot ceiling, half and full-size kitchens, a full-size bathroom, and compact lighting. Kamehameha Schools created Six Eighty to be a modern and contemporary rental complex consisting of 54 units reserved for median-income renters. The complex is home to small retail shops and eateries and an open-air venue on the roof.�

,” Our Kakaʻako, Kamehameha Schools, 1 January 2014, retrieved on 13 November 2014.

References

External links

Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority

Kakaʻako

Our Kakaʻako
{{Coord, 21, 17, 46.73, N, 157, 51, 19.76, W, display=title Neighborhoods in Honolulu Native Hawaiian culture in Honolulu