A developer wants to build two towers — one soaring 400 feet — on top of Macy’s parking lot at Ala Moana Center, and it’s offering the city millions of dollars in street trees, sidewalk upgrades, and affordable units to get there. The project, known as 1588 Ala Moana, would exceed Honolulu’s maximum permitted density by more than two times on land currently zoned for a maximum height of just 100 feet.
The proposal comes from BSC Acquisitions II, LLC, an affiliate of Blacksand Capital and the Kobayashi Group, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Under City Council Resolution 26-171, the developer’s Interim Planned Development-Transit application seeks to redevelop the 187,174-square-foot site at 1450 Ala Moana Boulevard into two towers — one 200 feet tall and one reaching 400 feet — with 145 luxury market-rate residences, 291 hotel rooms, 69 affordable rentals, and roughly 19,700 square feet of commercial space, per Sachi Hawaii. The Department of Planning and Permitting officially accepted the permit application on April 8, 2026, moving the project into agency review before draft Resolution 26-171 reached the City Council, according to the City and County of Honolulu.
The project would need to clear a City Council hearing before proceeding, and Council member Esther Kiaʻāina has said that hearing could happen in September, the station’s report notes. IPD-T permits function as temporary floating mechanisms under the city’s Land Use Ordinance, letting developers request custom height and floor-area-ratio exemptions ahead of formal station-area TOD Special Districts being codified — a tool created to encourage dense development near planned Skyline rail stops, per the same city agency account. Notably, Skyline’s Ala Moana station itself was cut from the rail plan in 2022 to save money, even as density incentives tied to the rail corridor remain on the books.
What’s on the Table for Community Benefits
BSC Acquisitions has proposed millions of dollars in streetscape community benefits, including $1.5 million for street trees and $5 million for complete streets improvements — reconfiguring roads to accommodate people beyond car and truck drivers, the Civil Beat report explains. The Department of Planning and Permitting had recommended the $1.5 million figure for street trees rather than an initial $50,000 offer. The developer also raised its proposed affordable units from 52 to 69 and pledged to preserve that affordability for 60 years instead of the standard 30, with the units targeting people earning between $86,000 and $129,000 annually…