Kalae at Ward Village
Kalae is a brand new ultra-luxury condo project coming to Ward Village. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the interior designer, Nicole Hollis, drew inspiration from early 20th century Hawaiiana architecture. Some of the buildings that brought that inspiration were Shangri La, The Halekulani Hotel, and The Honolulu Museum of Art.
Developer: Howard Hughes Corp
Architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Landscape Architect: Vita| Planning and Landscape Architecture
Interior Design: Nicole Hollis
Maintenance Fee: $1.27 per square foot
Project Update (Feburary 28, 2023): Sales are ongoing, construction not yet started. Projected completion is 2026.
Page Directory: Amenities | Neighborhood | Interest List
This building houses a variety of well-crafted and luxurious features, including 330 residential units, ground-floor commercial space, retail kiosks, landscaping and sculptural hardscape elements, lyric sidewalks, limited curb cuts, and public art.
The immediate draw for the building is the front row location featuring unobstructed Diamond Head and ocean views. Most of the buildings in Ward Village will have stunning ocean views but it's the Diamond Head views that will be a rare sight in most buildings. The buildings location looking over Kewalo Hardbor, beyond Ala Moana Beach Park and Magic Island and ultimately to Diamond Head is why the building has garnered so much initial interest. The buildings and the grounds will be stunning as well with courtyards and pavilions providing intimate gathering spaces for residents, offering a unique private backyard amenity for residents.
The building’s material treatments hearken back to the antique white plaster walls, golden wood details, and rich bronze metalwork of its predecessors, modernized into a refined, regional palette. The liner of the parking garage breaks down the scale of the podium by wrapping two levels in aesthetically pleasing metallic louvered screens with vertical and horizontal elements, utilizing materiality and patterning that references the motifs used throughout all elements of Kalae.
The Kalae tower facade uses a grid of frames to give it both scale and a proportion appropriate to its urban location. The tower’s prominence near the ocean allows ample, unobstructed views of Diamond Head and makai. Its massing and central siting allow for the expansive pools and outdoor fitness facilities of the surrounding amenity level. The richly layered materiality reinforces these relationships within the residence, while distinguishing it from its neighbors.
The Amenities
The amenities at Kalae will be some of the best in Ward Village. With every project the masterplan developer completes, they learn and curate future projects based on the amenities that are most used and loved by residents. What makes Kalae so unique are it's ground floor pavilions that were a popular draw at Howard Hughes' most recent front row project, Victoria Place. In that project, they created just one ground floor pavilion, at Kalae there will be 4, which will be a perfect place for small or large gatherings with friends and family.
Ground Floor Amenities
- Lobby
- Front Desk
- Security Office
- Mail Room
- Parcel Storage
- Secured Bicycle Storage
- Secured Surfboard Storage
- Dog Run
- 4 Courtyard terraces
- Port Cochere
5th Floor Amenities
- Owner's Lounge
- Resort Pool
- 25 Meter Lap Pool
- Spa
- Great Lawn
- Fitness Studio
- Personal Training Room
- Movement Studio
- Private Dining Room
- Catering Kitchen
- Women's Locker Room with Shower and Sauna
- Men's Locker Room with Shower and Sauna
- Guest Suites
- BBQ area with Pizza Oven
The Neighborhood
Located in one of the most walkable and bike-friendly neighborhoods in Honolulu, Kalae in Ward Village is located just a minutes-long walk away from Ala Moana Beach Park, the largest Whole Foods Market in the state, and a brand new 3-acre park.
The tower’s prominence near the ocean allows ample, unobstructed views of Diamond Head and Makai. The richly layered materiality reinforces these relationships within the residence, while distinguishing it from its neighbors.
Floor Plans
Looking at the floor plan, one thing that jumps out to me right off the bat is that there is only one one-bedroom floor plan located on the Diamond Head side of the building. There will be huge demand for this unit because the primary views from this buidling will be on the east facing side looking out towards Diamond Head.
Kalae Prices
The prices for Kalae is similar to Victoria Place when it first launched with a small premium added because it's the latest proejct in Ward Village. Kalae is in somewhat of a unique location with a 600 foot buffer between the east facing side of the building to the next building, Waiea.
One-bedroom Prices - $1.2m - $1.8m
Two-bedroom Prices - $1.6m - $3m
Three-bedroom Prices - $3m - $5m+
The three-bedroom prices are always the most expensive in the building because they have the largest square footage of any units in the building but also becase they're located on the front (direct ocean facing) side of the buidling so they also feature the best views of any units in the building.
When it comes to two-bedroom units, the best in terms of views and size will be the 02 residence at just over 1,400 sqft. A mid-floor 02 unit in Kalae will be roughly $2.7m. I like this floor plan because the bedrooms are split on either side of the living room which provides more privacy for occupants.
The best one-bedroom in the building, hands down, will be the 08 residence. It's the only one-bedroom on the Diamond Head side and you can be sure the views will be stunning. The beauty of being located on the first row is that you don't need to be on a high floor to get amazing views. A low floor unit in the 08 stack between the 10th floor and 20th floor will be in the low $1.7m range.
