Posted on: Sunday, May 20, 2001
From dome to high-rise
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
After 22 months of construction, Waikiki's first new commercial hotel tower in more than a decade opened to guests last week. A grand opening is set for mid-September.
A prime site
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The Kaiser Dome, constructed in 22 hours for the premiere of "Around the World in Eighty Days" in 1957, had been a fixture at the corner of Ala Moana and Kalia Road. It was an engineering feat of its time and became home to performances of Hawai'i's top entertainers. The site, at the entrance to Hilton's Waikiki resort, is targeted in 1989 for a new hotel tower, although actual construction wouldn't begin for a decade.
In the beginning
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The dome is demolished in August 1999 along with a miniature golf course, leaving a staircase descending from Hilton's Coral Ballroom onto the construction site. (The stairs had to be left as an emergency exit until a new exit was in place.) By February 2000, foundation work for Kalia Tower is complete. Meanwhile, Hawai'i enjoys a rebound in visitor growth after a 2 percent falloff in 1998.
The first steps
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Hilton uses steel for the building's frame because it allows for faster construction and a lighter building that requires less foundational support. Steel prices also are at a record low $1 — $1.25 per pound including shipping from South Korea. Frame construction of the lobby, spa/pool and conference levels takes one month to finish, and uses 40 percent of all the 3,500 tons of steel in the 25-story tower.
On the rise
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Room floors are designed to start above the roof of the Coral Ballroom/parking garage so makai-facing rooms don't look out at a concrete wall. Most room floors are identical, making for quicker construction of the steel and concrete floors, which are installed as the frame rises to provide stiffness for the emerging tower. In this May 2000 picture, the frame is about two-thirds complete. By mid-July it would be finished.
Ready for business
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Kalia Tower is largely finished. Six floors initially open and the first guests checked in last week. The wellness center, spa, meeting facilities and Bishop Museum will open in the next several months. The tower's amenities, which include rooms wired for Internet connections and business services, could give Hilton an edge over other Waikiki hotels, although a softening tourism market poses challenges for the entire industry.
