I2C Realty, Ltd

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Although first published in 2006, current economic factors give a breath of new relevance to this article by Andrew Gomes. Aside from the ideas to ponder at the city planning level are the many opportunities that are becoming available for more folks to consider real estate that offers income potential as well as a place to live! If you're a seller, your target market might be changing... if you're a buyer, new opportunities could be opening up in your real estate future. Look closely, "it's all about zoning!" Posted: Sunday, May 21, 2006 New way to live, work lies just around corner By Andrew Gomes Advertiser Staff Writer Imagine living and working in Hawai'i with no daily commute, except for walking down a few stairs. Nice? How about having daycare for the kids and Starbucks coffee a few doors down from your home, and the corner store actually on the corner — of the same block? This lifestyle might be possible in a few older neighborhoods — such as Mo'ili'ili, Chinatown or Kalihi — until now. Soon it will be spreading to new communities around the Islands, if developers' plans are realized. Sometimes referred to as "smart growth," "neo-traditional" or "New Urbanism," communities closely integrating housing and commercial uses often tied to mass transit have become more popular on the Mainland and are coming to Hawai'i. One of the first modern local examples of such a mixed-use neighborhood is scheduled to break ground next year with 1,150 homes in O'ahu's "second city" of Kapolei. Similar projects, some smaller and some larger, are being planned around the state. The Kapolei project, called Mehana, covers 135 acres on the makai fringe of Kapolei's unfinished civic center, and would help the "second city" realize a goal to be a smart-growth example. Mehana, a project by the Schuler Division of homebuilder D.R. Horton, may be Hawai'i's first modern community featuring low-rise condos for residential and commercial use, said Francis Oda, chairman and CEO of local planning and design firm Group 70 International. "They are in a forward wave in this new kind of living style," Oda said. Of the 1,150 homes planned by Schuler at Mehana, about 650 are slated to be on land zoned for a mix of residences and a broad range of small businesses including home occupations, personal services, clinics, eating establishments and convenience stores. Schuler has designed some of the 650 units as three-story townhomes with separate upstairs and downstairs entrances, enabling owners to live upstairs and operate a business downstairs. "You don't need to get into the car to get eggs or milk ... the kids can walk to the elementary school," said Mike Jones, Schuler president. "It's a pretty cool concept." Makakilo resident Nada Mangialetti said the concept is exciting, especially because she runs a psychological counseling service out of an office at Kapolei's major industrial park next to an automobile-crushing facility and a moving company. "I can't find an office space in (Kapolei) town," she said. "I'm stuck out at Campbell Industrial Park.

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