***Event video and interviews (Paul Menzies, CEO, Laconia Development and David Lassner, President University of Hawaii and Chancellor, University of Hawaii at Manoa): https://www.dropbox.com/s/sw5al1d6eemqcpg/Hale%20Mahana%20VNR.mov?dl=0
Event photos: https://app.box.com/s/xjy3vph0wjs01ux1k2osp0jjydjmhoji
1 – Justin Smith, Collegiate Housing & Paul Menzies, Laconia Development
2 – Groundbreaking Participants: Dr. Puakea Nogelmeier, UH at Manoa School of Hawaiian Knowledge; Ann Kobayashi, Honolulu City Councilmember;. Maenette Benham, UH-West Oahu Chancellor; David Lassner, UH President and UH at Manoa Chancellor; Justin Smith, EdR Collegiate Housing; Paul Menzies, Laconia Development; Eric Tessem, Laconia Development; Honolulu Managing Director, Roy Amemiya, Jr.; UH Football Coach Nick Rolovich; Kahu Kordell Kekoa
Hale Mahana Renderings: https://app.box.com/s/1l830i4hlpuurozel1kov0uj1o31bsf2
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, February 10, 2017
Contact:
Lloyd Yonenaka
Communications Pacific
Phone: (808) 543-3574
Mobile: (808) 754-0078
E-mail: [email protected]
HALE MAHANA COLLEGIATE APARTMENTS CELEBRATES THE START OF CONSTRUCTION
HONOLULU – An official groundbreaking and blessing was held today to celebrate the start of construction for a new student apartment project near the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The 14-story Hale Mahana Collegiate Apartments located at 2615 South King Street, the former University Square location, is a private partnership between Laconia Development LLC and EdR Collegiate Housing.
Hale Mahana Collegiate Apartments will offer 191 residential apartments designed specifically to address the pressing need for quality student-oriented accommodations in Honolulu. The project will feature a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans. A rooftop amenity area with incredible views of Manoa Valley will include a fitness center, outdoor terrace lounge, a community kitchen, study lounges and social areas.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with EdR Collegiate Housing to bring quality, safe and modern housing options to students at the many college and university campuses in Honolulu,” said Paul Menzies, Laconia’s chief executive officer. “From the start, our goal has always been to understand the local marketplace in order to conceive a project that enhances the neighborhood and meets the needs of the community.”
Hale Mahana Collegiate Apartments is the first project in Hawaii by Laconia Development and EdR Collegiate Housing. In addition, the project is the first new construction of privately owned student-oriented apartments near the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the Moiliili area.
The project also features approximately 20,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, a landscaped public plaza fronting South King Street, convenient access to public transportation, and easy walking or biking distances to the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Chaminade University campuses.
“Building communities and pursuing projects that provide quality and safe homes for working people is central to our beliefs as a company,” added Menzies. “We are currently exploring other development opportunities to build homes for working families and students in Honolulu and look forward to opening Hale Mahana in the summer of 2018.”
Laconia engaged with the University of Hawaii at Manoa – Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge to learn about the rich history of Manoa Valley and Moiliili in order to identify a culturally appropriate name for the project’s location. Mahana means warmth, rest, and garden, class of chiefs, to be active and work. Mahana is the salvation in the myth of Kahalaopuna. Kahalaopuna was the daughter of the Manoa wind and rain.
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Laconia Development LCC, based in Walnut Creek, California, develops and invests in dynamic multi-family residential and mixed-use environments – low-rise to high-rise – reinvigorating urban markets with advanced amenities, technology and aesthetics.