No matter which lens you use, Kakaako is where the transformations in Hawaii’s 21st-century life are most clear. The demographic lens: You already know there are more older people today, while young people are delaying both marriage and their families,…
While most of the state’s leasehold single-family properties have converted to fee simple ownership over the past few decades, the leasehold option remains alive in the condo market.
It’s not your imagination, Honolulu is packed with high-rises. In fact, it ranks sixth in the United States —right behind San Francisco—and 30th in the world among cities with the most skyscrapers, according to Emporis, a building-industry information clearinghouse. Since…
Thursday, 11:57 A.M. Makakilo Quarry, Oahu Photo by Bob Hayes >> Chris Hermosura, Grace Pacific’s quarry plant superintendent, left, and bulldozer operator Patrick Valmoja scope areas for basalt limestone aggregate. Each year, the company produces more than a million tons…
More than 70 percent of new-home construction in Hawaii uses cold-steel frame studs in place of traditional wooden two-by-fours. “No other state comes even close,” says Tim Waite of the Hawaii Steel Alliance. “Second place goes to Australia.” On the mainland, steel framing is frequently found in multifamily…
Tuesday, 11:50 AM Coulter Construction, Manoa Valley Photographer Twain Newhart >> A crew from Coulter Construction lays down the concrete foundation for a custom-built home in Manoa. Pouring the concrete takes a week, but site preparation starts weeks in advance. The…
The coming construction boom will be very different from the last one: different kinds of projects, new ways of financing and maybe fewer rising costs. It’s often hard to say exactly when the business cycle turns. Some date the end…
A rich history and equally interesting cast of tenants make this century-old building one of a kind If you like modern glass and steel towers, Bishop Street has plenty of office locations to choose from. But if your taste runs…
When Iniki hit, many property owners were uninsured, under-insured or covered by a company that couldn’t handle all its claims When a massive storm like Hurricane Sandy strikes, the effects on the insurance industry are felt around the world, including…
Question: I am involved in a construction project whose contract provides for performance-based penalties and rewards. What can I do to help get all the companies to work together? Answer: It’s essential that people who work together have good communication, teamwork and strategies for…
10:18 am, Thursday HECO Manhole #191F, Rodgers Blvd. at Airport Substation Photographer: Twain Newhart >> Working foreman Bobby Nakaji, left, and senior cable splicers Dean Ponimoi and Mike Oasay, right, work to complete the installation of a primary…
For companies looking to buy heavy equipment, it is important to get up close to the big machines, see them in action and look under the hood. The Hawaii division of Hawthorne CAT lets its clients do all that, but…
Ask the owner of Group Builders Inc. how he’s been able to grow his business from a $1,000 capital investment to a multimillion-dollar finishing contractor business in 33 years and he won’t point to his ingenuity and hard work. He’ll…
At Hawaiian Dredging, one of the Islands’ largest contractors, Wilson has a bird’s-eye view of the building industry and its role in the state’s economy. Hawaii Business talked to him about what can be done to improve the state of…
When the governor takes a meeting at the trendy Fresh Café in the midst of Kakaako’s gritty warren of body shops and warehouses, something big is cooking. When the meeting includes a major landowner and innovators from the community, you can bet…
Today’s tourists are not willing to just stay close to their hotels or only take tours to the standard attractions. They want to experience out-of-the-way beaches, trails and neighborhoods that locals have had mostly to themselves for decades. Those incursions…
SOURCES: HSWAC AND HAWAII BUSINESS RESEARCH Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning is scheduled to break ground this year on its cooling system for buildings in downtown Honolulu, says the vice chairman of HSWAC’s board, Bill Mahlum. Here’s a look at the system:…
The line of customers outside Matsumoto Grocery Store is 15 deep. Visitors and locals alike wait patiently to place their orders, huddling under the eaves of the ramshackle old building to avoid the noon sun. In the dusty gravel parking…
As executive VP and GM of dck pacific construction since 2008, Roger Peters has guided the company through one of the worst building climates in memory. With few major projects (except for rail) on the horizon, we ask Peters for…
By any measure, Kukuiula on Kauai's south shore has been an ambitious undertaking. When Alexander & Baldwin first proposed the private golf club and master-planned, luxury community in the early 1980s, it…
After more than two miserable years, many in Hawaii's construction industry think the near future will be brighter because of the Honolulu rail line, planned hotel redevelopments and other projects. "It's cautious optimism," says John White, executive director of the…
In some ways, construction and Waikiki go hand-in-hand. After all, the pleasure palaces along the beach have provided many of the largest recent private construction projects in the state. By some counts, more than $2 billion has been spent over…
Since it opened in January, Podium Raceway has been packed every weekend with screaming kids and screeching tires. The presence and popularity of the indoor electric-go-kart track signals a new plan for Barbers Point, at least for the short term. Until recently,…
HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS TOUGH TIMES PERSIST: The news remains bleak on three key measures: jobs, revenue and profi t. In each case, more companies surveyed suffered declines during the past year than enjoyed increases. OPTIMISM STEADY: The outlook for the…