Schuler plans to build 1,150 homes in Kapolei

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Schuler Homes plans to build 1,150 homes in the heart of Kapolei, a project that would help solidify the area's designation as O'ahu's Second City but also raises concerns over the impact on traffic.

The Hawai'i homebuilder recently signed a contract with area landowner Campbell Estate to acquire 120 acres on the edge of Kapolei's civic center, where it plans to build the homes during the next 11 to 16 years.

The community, called Mehana, is designed to have six parks, running and cycling paths, a recreation center, pool, commercial complex and a roughly 50-50 mix of single-family and multi-family homes ranging in price from the low $200,000s to the mid $400,000s.

About 400 of the homes will be priced between the low $200,000s and low $300,000s, a range Schuler said is affordable based on the current market, in which half of all previously-owned homes sold on O'ahu last month cost more than $410,000.

Schuler and Campbell Estate plan to contribute a 12-acre adjacent site for a new elementary school. The home developer also said it expects to contribute an estimated $1.6 million to the state for school construction, spend $5 million for off-site road improvements related to Mehana and $6.5 million for road construction and improvements in the 'Ewa area.

The Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale neighborhood board voted 6-1 in support of the project at a meeting last week. But the developer must obtain a zoning change from the city to move ahead.

Mike Jones, Hawai'i division president for Schuler, said the company expects to submit its zoning change application in mid- to late April, and if approved, begin sales and construction in 2007.

"We are very excited about this opportunity to bring a top-quality, planned community to the area," he said. "Mehana helps meet the housing demand fueled by the growing number of jobs in Kapolei. It also helps fulfill the vision for O'ahu's 'second city,' and provides needed housing for local families who want to work — and live — all within their local neighborhood."

Area neighborhood board chairwoman Maeda Timson, a Makakilo resident since 1971, called Schuler's plan a responsible, quality development that fits with the area's development plan.

"It's a really good plan," she said. "They're not looking at just building their homes and going away."

Timson said the project should tie in with ongoing and planned infrastructure improvements that ease school and traffic crowding as the community is gradually built.

But neighborhood board member Kioni Dudley, who alone voted to oppose the project, said no more homes should be built in the area without the necessary infrastructure.

"Every day it's another car on the road," he said. "It's going to crowd the town.

"We don't object to the project itself — the 'second city' is the 'second city,' and it takes houses and this is where the houses are supposed to go. It's not sprawl. That's not the problem. What's the problem is the timing is wrong. We don't have the infrastructure."

Late last year, about 350 residents turned out at a Makakilo Community Association meeting to complain about growing traffic congestion, and a group led a petition drive calling for a moratorium on new-home construction until adequate roads and schools are built.

Shortly thereafter, Campbell Estate announced it would front $11.2 million to expedite traffic-improvement projects to alleviate the bottleneck at Fort Barrette Road and Farrington Highway, where routes from Makakilo, Kapolei and 'Ewa converge. That work is expected to be done by the end of the year, rather than five to 10 years.

Timson said she has faith that the area's transportation plan will accommodate additional homes planned for Kapolei. "When we all moved into the area we all knew this was going to be a 'second city' community," she said.

The project site was originally designated for residential development by Kapolei master planner Campbell Estate, but still has agricultural zoning.

The state designated about 750 acres of former sugarcane fields from the agricultural to urban district in the 1980s, and the estate incrementally has been obtaining zoning changes to expand the city.

Schuler projects its first Mehana home could be delivered in 2008, with the community growing to about 500 homes between 2010 and 2015. The last homes are expected to take until 2015 to 2020 to finish.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.

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