California City Scoop: Construction Starts in Honolulu

Before the COVID-19 crisis, the value of new contracts was expected to fall 31%

Sharp declines had been forecast for residential and non-building; a gain had been expected for non-residential.

City Grill

Doug Rogers
Vice President
Moss Construction

Moss, operating in Hawaii for six years, says its construction work remains on course during the pandemic thanks to swift action in adopting safety protocols.

“Housing—especially state-funded multifamily affordable housing—is projected to be very strong for the next few years, especially considering the staggering need in Hawaii,” says Rogers. He notes that Honolulu’s mayor says 20,000 housing units are needed now in Oahu.

Moss recently completed Kaiwahine Village, a 120-unit affordable housing project funded by Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. tax credits. The firm is also working on Hale Makana, a 60-unit project in Maili. Other work includes a 320-unit, market-rate project called The Element in Kapolei and a mixed-use graduate-student housing project at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Federal military construction spending is projected to remain strong as shovel-ready projects are rolled out through construction-stimulus spending.

“However, both of those may be impacted as the extended economic closures continue to reduce state and federal tax revenues,” Rogers says.