Applications for a new Waikiki hotel tower that would expand the Hilton Hawaiian Village campus is headed to the Honolulu City Council for review and approval of the project’s zoning request.
Park Hotels & Resorts, which owns Hilton Hawaiian Village, is proposing a 350-foot, 36-story tower near the corner of Ala Moana Boulevard and Kalia Road that would add about 515 rooms to the hotel’s campus in Waikiki.
What is being called the AMB Tower would be the ninth tower on the Hilton Hawaiian Village campus. It would be built on three parcels at 1831, 1835 and 1841 Ala Moana Blvd., adjacent to the resort’s Grand Waikikian Tower and near the Kalia Tower. This would expand the existing 22.24-acre campus by about .46 acres or 20,141 square feet.
The project is currently in the early stages of permitting and planning. If approved by the City Council, it will return to the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting for another review and approval process. If approved, construction is expected to start in 2026 and run through 2029.
Norman Hong, principal and chairman of lead architect G70, said during a public hearing before the DPP Wednesday that “This project is going to increase the tourism [and] hospitality capacity in Waikiki.”
The tower would be an update to a Village Master Plan that was designed to improve retail flow throughout the resort campus, add new towers and expand recreational amenities, according to a final supplemental environmental impact statement published in July 2023. The master plan was outlined in a final EIS back in 2011.
“The new AMB Tower will not only help to redirect visitors back to hotels in the visitor area of Waikiki, but also provide new amenities and food and beverage offerings to entice guests to stay and relax on the property, and in and around Waikiki, reducing tourism’s impact on other areas of the island,” Jonathan Fuisz, Park Hotels & Resorts senior vice president of investments, said in a statement.
At the base of the hotel tower will be an eight-level podium, planned to include amenities and support spaces such as a lobby and reception area, staff office space, employee areas, parking, retail and commercial space, a pool and recreation deck, a bar and other amenities.
Stakeholders emphasized in Wednesday’s hearing that the new tower would reinvigorate the ewa gateway into Waikiki.
“This project will help achieve a longstanding community aim to enhance the ewa gateway to Waikiki by replacing aging buildings currently on site with a state-of-the-art tower that provides a more visually appealing and appropriate welcome for locals and visitors alike,” Rick Egged, Waikiki Improvement Association president, said in a statement.
The current project site is occupied by a rental car business, two-story retail buildings and the Kobe Japanese Steakhouse restaurant that closed in 2020. Park Hotels & Resorts first purchased the 9,802-square-foot parcel at 1831 Ala Moana Blvd. for $10.12 million, as previously reported on by Pacific Business News, and later acquired the other two parcels, 1835 Ala Moana Blvd. and 1841 Ala Moana Blvd., for $5.84 million and $5.46 million each in March 2023.
Additionally, the project proposes to have a sculpture garden accessible to the public, as well as monthly festivals, paid for by Hilton Hawaiian Village, that will be hosted on the Kalia garden site.
“[Festivals] will be for artisans, musicians and artists… to display their art pieces. [It will be] open to the public, both visitors as well as the local folks,” said Hong. “We want this to be a combination festival that celebrates the culture of Hawaii but also appeals to both visitors as well as to local residents.”
The AMB Tower is expected to create a total of 493 full-time equivalent jobs, including 370 jobs on-site and an additional and 123 associated secondary or off-site jobs.
The Hilton Hawaiian Village campus current consists of eight hotel and Hilton Grand Vacations towers: Alii Tower, Rainbow Tower, Tapa Tower, Kalia Tower, Diamond Head Tower, Lagoon Tower, Grand Waikikian and Grand Islander.