University of Hawaii Expands Student Housing Options

HONOLULU — Construction on a collegiate housing community adjacent to the University of Hawaii in Honolulu began earlier this month. With few current options available for students matched by a competitive housing-application process, the new housing campus will help fill the much-needed demand for housing on campus.

Memphis, Tenn.-based EdR, one of America’s largest owners and developers of collegiate housing, in a joint venture with San Francisco-based Laconia Development, will be developing the complex. When completed in 2019, EdR will be the 90 percent owner and will manage the $110 million development.

“This is a great opportunity to add to our development pipeline, which is driving significant growth for EdR,” said EdR CEO Randy Churchey in a statement. “Assembling land with our partner, Laconia, in such a prime location in the city of Honolulu that the joint venture will own fee simple is a major feat and will allow us to bring modern off-campus living options to University of Hawaii students.”

The housing development will feature 599 beds in a combination of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans. It will also include 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and structured parking. Rooftop amenities will include a fitness center, outdoor terrace lounge, community kitchen, study lounges and gaming areas. Views of Waikiki, Diamond Head and Manoa Valley will be available from nearly any angle.

As the flagship institution of the University of Hawaii System, the University of Hawaii has an enrollment of nearly 19,000 students, and approximately 35 percent of the student body is from out of state. Students come from across the world to seek the university’s nationally acclaimed academic programs in such fields as cancer research, genetics, astronomy, education and oceanography.