Howard Hughes secures $600m loan for Ward Village development in US

Real estate developer Howard Hughes has received a $600m non-recourse construction loan from Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies to develop Waiea and Anaha, the first two condominium towers at Ward Village, Honolulu, US.

The loan for the 60-acre urban master planned community was arranged by Randy Fleisher with the Dallas Capital Markets group of JLL.

The mixed-use development will feature more than 4,000 residential units and more than one million ft² of retail, as well as other commercial space.

Howard Hughes president Grant Herlitz said: “Our vision for Ward Village is to create the premier master planned community in Hawaii offering an unrivaled vibrant urban lifestyle in the heart of Honolulu.

“The closing of this loan marks another important milestone as we create the quintessential 21st century neighborhood.”

“Anaha was designed by global architecture firm Solomon CordwellBuenz, along with Honolulu-based Benjamin Wood Architects.”

Designed by Vancouver-based architect KM Cheng in collaboration with Honolulu-based firm WCIT Architecture, the Waiea tower will feature 171 residences and 8,000ft² of retail space.

Construction of this tower was started in June and is expected to be completed by late 2016.

Anaha was designed by global architecture firm Solomon CordwellBuenz, along with Honolulu-based Benjamin Wood Architects.

The tower, which will offer 311 condo units and 17,000ft² of retail space, is scheduled to be completed in early 2017.

Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies chief investment officer Mike Nash said: “We are excited to partner with The Howard Hughes Corporation in constructing the first phase of Ward Village.

“The transaction is indicative of our mandate to provide flexible capital solutions to best-in-class sponsors on institutional quality real estate and reaffirms our longstanding relationship with The Howard Hughes Corporation.

“We believe they will deliver a world-class community and significantly contribute to the continued redevelopment of Oahu as a vibrant retail, residential and vacation destination.”