Visit the Six Eighty website for more information.
Six Eighty Ala Moana Boulevard is the first major project of the Kamehameha Schoolsʻ 15-year “Our Kakaʻako” redevelopment plan. The project will transform the Kaka’ako area with a new type of urban living designed around the experiences of its residents.
“What makes Our Kakaʻako different from other developments in the area, we’re trying to create a sense of community, an urban island neighborhood that we haven’t seen here Hawaii, right downtown,” said Elizabeth Hokada, Kamehameha Schools’ Vice President for Endowment.
“So I hope the residents feel they want to be part of that, right. Work here, play here, and live here, and become part of that collaboration and that community.”
Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz remarked that “What’s happening in Kaka’ako is exactly what needs to happen for O’ahu. homes are being built, people are getting an opportunity to live here and not spend all of their time in a car, restaurants are popping up, commercial establishments, there’s lots of momentum here.”
The residents of Six Eighty are truly the early adopters of lifestyle offered by Our Kaka’ako. Kamehameha Schools envisions an area where young professionals come together to create their own sense of community.
“I think Kakaʻako’s a really exciting neighborhood right now. I love the restaurants and the galleries and the shared workspaces that are all going in right now. And so it’s kind of the perfect place for my husband and I to be as we’re, you know, starting our professional lives here in Honolulu,” said Six Eighty resident Christine Matsuda-Smith.
The 54-units at Six Eighty are reserved for renters who earn up to the median income from Honolulu. Kamehameha Schools envisions a range of future housing options for Our Kaka’ako to attract a diverse residential population.
It seems like the people who will be living here with us are of a similar mind and are really interested in that kind of a lifestyle. So I look forward to getting to know all of them and being a part area as its growing and changing. It’s a very vibrant community,” remarked Matsuda-Smith.
According to Hokada, “It’s not just what Kamehameha Schools is doing with its physical buildings and trying to bring tenants in, but it’s also what the people already here are doing to make this, this vision a reality and to grow the vision in ways that we might not have anticipated. With the small business that are coming up around this block and in this area, there’s a sense of excitement, innovation.”
Lt. Gov. Schatz remarked how the planned development in Kaka’ako is “great for our economy, it’s also great for quality of life because it helps people actually spend time with their families, spend time in the community. So this really is smart planning, smart economic development, and it’s happening now.”
Noting Kamehameha Schools’ history with Kakaʻako, Hokada explained that “this is land that has been part of Kamehameha Schools’ legacy forever, and actually reaches beyond our own 125 years to Pauahi’s legacy and those who came before her. So it’s a very, very special piece of land. This is land that has been part of Kamehameha Schools’ legacy forever, and actually reaches beyond our own 125 years to Pauahi’s legacy and those who came before her. So it’s a very, very special piece of land. So we’re not a short-term, cut and run investor. We want to build a place here that you’ll be excited to come to, your family friends, mine will feel that way. So that we can all grow and prosper together.”