Residents of Honolulu's newest and priciest residential address — 1288 Ala Moana — began picking up their keys, security cards and a complimentary roll of toilet paper yesterday as they took possession of their mostly million-dollar condominium units.

"It's going to be the premier condo in Hawai'i, I think," said Gustavo Gallardo, an optometrist from California who sold his business and home to retire with his wife, Taylor, in Honolulu.

Gallardo and his wife checked out their two-bedroom center unit at Hokua overlooking Ala Moana Beach Park and were impressed with the finished product, which they bought based on drawings.

"The views are just to die for," he said. "You cross the street and you're at the beach. You can walk to shops. It's just awesome."

The 247-unit Hokua high-rise, which finalized all sales yesterday, is the first of a dozen or so Kaka'ako residential towers planned for construction and completion in the next five years.

Three other nearby glass-clad towers with about 1,100 units are scheduled to be finished in the next year.

In all, there are 14 condo towers planned with about 4,000 units, though some have yet to begin construction and may not be developed depending on market conditions in the next few years. If all the towers are built, residential growth would easily top Kaka'ako's previous high-rise condo boom of the late 1980s and add to traffic congestion.

The several thousand new residents also will accelerate Kaka'ako's transformation from its largely industrial past into an urban residential and retail community.

City planners forecast that more than 25,000 people will move into Kaka'ako in the next 25 years, increasing its population by 178 percent. It will be one of the fastest growing residential communities on O'ahu, behind only several communities between 'Ewa Beach and Ko Olina.

"It'll definitely change the character of the area," said Joyce Kurtz, an Ala Moana-Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board member.

According to Hokua developer MK Management LLC, the 40-story tower will attract less traffic than the office complex, retail stores and 7-Eleven gas station it replaced.

Kurtz said she believes that Hokua and other towers under construction will likely have less traffic impact than if the properties were developed with commercial and retail businesses. "I don't think there will be as much impact as people think," she said.

The Kaka'ako tower developers are satisfying demand from mostly O'ahu residents who seek to live amid Honolulu's urban core closer to work, major shopping destinations and avoiding long traffic commutes from increasingly congested suburbs.

Other buyers include investors and a large number of Mainland retirees. MK Management declined to allow interviews with Hokua buyers to protect their privacy.

Hokua, which cost $210 million, was the first project to test the market's strength for high-rise luxury condos in the past decade on O'ahu, and nearly sold out in late 2002 with an average unit price of about $1 million, or $278 million in total proceeds.

An estimated 75 percent of buyers are full-time or part-time Hawai'i residents, followed by 10 percent from California, 10 percent from Japan and 5 percent from other parts of the Mainland and Asia, according to Karl Heyer IV, Hokua sales and marketing director.

Construction began in 2003, and was delayed briefly by a concrete strike just before the building's foundation was scheduled to be poured.

Yesterday, about 150 buyers picked up their keys and other accessories to check out their completed units, which ranged in price from $535,000 to $5.5 million. A few were expected to spend the night, though the first moving vans won't arrive until today. Toilet paper was included in welcome packages to allow residents to use their bathrooms if necessary.

"Everyone is excited," Heyer said.

With limited loading dock space and freight elevator time, it is estimated that 100 residents will be able to move in with furnishings by the end of the month.

Other elements of the building still need to be completed, including landscaping, the recreation deck and pool. A P.F. Chang's restaurant is scheduled to open this summer.

Heyer estimated that roughly 20 percent of owners may resell their units over the next year given the appreciation of property values over the past two years during Hokua construction.

Hokua was developed by local firms The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group and Alexander & Baldwin Inc.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.