‘Ilima at Ward Village

‘Ilima is the ultra-luxury tower on Block E of Ward Village — Howard Hughes’ 60-acre master-planned community in Kaka‘ako — built on the former Ward Centre site at 1238 Ala Moana Boulevard, next to the Ossipoff-designed IBM Building and directly across the boulevard from Ala Moana Beach Park.

It is a joint venture between Howard Hughes and Discovery Land Company, announced in March 2024. Discovery Land is the operator behind Kūki‘o on Hawai‘i Island, Mākena on Maui, and the Summit Club in Las Vegas — and ‘Ilima is its first urban residential tower anywhere. That distinction matters more than any finish schedule: what is being sold here is not a condominium with good amenities, it is a private residential club that happens to be stacked vertically.

The building holds 148 residences across 33 stories, roughly 400 feet tall, with two- through six-bedroom homes and no studios or one-bedrooms — the first tower in Ward Village to omit them entirely. Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed it with local firm AHL; Champalimaud Design is handling interiors; VITA Planning & Landscape Architecture the landscape.

‘Ilima at a Glance

The Residences

‘Ilima is deliberately low-density. At 148 homes across 33 floors it holds roughly a fifth of the units of ‘A‘ali‘i and less than a third of A‘eo — with residences reported to begin on the seventh floor above a five-story podium, and only a handful of homes per floor. The practical consequences are the ones buyers at this level actually care about: short elevator waits, few shared corridors, and a high proportion of corner homes created by the tower’s angular footprint.

What the Developer Has Released — and What We Get for You

A good deal of ‘Ilima detail is still unreleased at this stage of a presale. Here is what has been published, what has not, and where the remaining answers come from.

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Mohala and the Amenity Program

‘Ilima dedicates over 81,000 square feet to recreation — distributed across the ground level and two amenity floors above the podium, with the bulk of it on the primary deck. For a building of 148 homes, that is a ratio no other residential tower in Honolulu comes close to.

What Mohala Actually Is

Mohala is the Discovery Land Company owners’ club housed inside ‘Ilima. It is the reason this project prices where it does, and it works differently from every other amenity deck in Kaka‘ako.

• Operated by Discovery Land, not the association — Staffing and service standards are set by a resort operator rather than a condominium managing agent. That is the value proposition and the cost driver at the same time.
• Reported service program — Dedicated lifestyle concierge, valet parking, pre-arrival stocking of residences, coordination of housekeeping and maintenance, and curated cultural and family programming.
• On-site dining — Multiple club-operated restaurant concepts have been described, accessible to members and their accompanied guests.
• A shared 43-foot yacht — Reported as part of the member offering, in keeping with Discovery Land’s model at its other communities.
• Membership is the gate — Access to club facilities and services runs through membership, which is understood to carry an initiation fee plus annual dues. Neither figure has been publicly disclosed, and we will not publish a guess at them. We will ask for the club documents on your behalf.

Pricing

‘Ilima residences are priced individually, and the spread across the building is extraordinary — wider than any tower in Ward Village history. Floor, exposure, corner position, and residence size all move the number substantially, and the developer has not published a public price sheet by unit.

Rather than post figures that go stale, we will pull the live sheet for you: what remains available, the actual configuration of each residence, current pricing, deposit structure, and the estimated maintenance fee for that specific home.

Where Pricing Has Landed

For scale rather than as a quote. When statutory owner-occupant sales opened in July 2025, ‘Ilima’s starting price was approximately $3.9 million, with companion tower Melia starting near $1.7 million. Pricing has since been described as running from roughly $4 million into the $40 million range at the penthouse level. Those figures were current only as of the dates stated and are not a substitute for the developer’s current price sheet.

Sales Performance to Date

• September 2025 launch — Howard Hughes reported $1.2 billion in combined sales at launch across ‘Ilima and Melia, including more than $280 million in penthouse sales and a single residence in excess of $40 million — the highest-priced condominium sale in Hawai‘i history.
• As of September 1, 2025 — ‘Ilima was reported 41 percent pre-sold, Melia 52 percent.
• As of June 30, 2026 — The developer’s quarterly reporting placed ‘Ilima at roughly 63 percent under contract and Melia at roughly 70 percent.

Get Current Pricing & Availability

The Owner-Occupant Designation

Hawai‘i condominium law requires developers to designate at least half the residential units in a project for sale to prospective owner-occupants, through published announcements, before general sales open. ‘Ilima was no exception.

• 77 of the 148 residences — more than fifty percent — were offered to owner-occupants when statutory presales began in July 2025.
• A notarized affidavit — Buying an owner-occupant designated unit means signing a binding legal document under Chapter 514B, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, with criminal and civil penalties attached to a false statement or a violation.
• Principal residence for 365 consecutive days — counted from recordation, with complete possessory control. Renting, leasing, or assigning the residence for any period to anyone not on title forfeits owner-occupant status.
• Notification duty — If you decide at any point to stop being an owner-occupant, you must notify the Real Estate Commission immediately — and the developer, if the decision comes before closing.

Architecture & Design

‘Ilima is the outlier in Ward Village architecturally. Where Kō‘ula undulates and Anaha refracts, Robert A.M. Stern Architects has gone the other direction entirely — classical proportion, human-scaled detail, and materials that reference Hawai‘i’s own architectural record rather than the international glass-tower vocabulary.

Design descriptions above are drawn from developer materials, the architects’ published statements, and permit filings. Renderings are conceptual and the design may change through construction.

The Site & Ward Village

The former Ward Centre parcel is arguably the most valuable remaining development site in Kaka‘ako: front row on Ala Moana Boulevard, with nothing between it and Ala Moana Beach Park but the boulevard itself. Ka Lei Park, a new public open space of roughly an acre, will sit between ‘Ilima and companion tower Melia.

Ward Village is an active construction environment and will remain one through the end of the decade, with several towers still to be built. Expect construction traffic, noise, and dust in the surrounding blocks during the buildout — including on this parcel.

Where the Project Stands

• March 2024 — Howard Hughes announces the joint venture with Discovery Land Company for ‘Ilima, alongside companion tower Melia.
• July 2025 — Statutory owner-occupant sales open, with 77 of 148 residences designated.
• September 2025 — Sales launch produces $1.2 billion in combined ‘Ilima and Melia contracts, including the state-record penthouse sale.
• June 30, 2026 — Ward Centre closes permanently after more than four decades, clearing the site.
• 2026 — Demolition and groundbreaking expected to follow site clearance.
• 2029–2030 — Estimated completion and occupancy, subject to change.

How the Buying Process Works

• Get your financing position established first — At this price tier that usually means a private banking relationship or documented proof of funds rather than a conventional pre-approval letter. Presale contracts at Ward Village are typically written without a financing contingency; confirm the terms for your specific agreement.
• Understand the deposit schedule — Ward Village presales are structured with staged deposits held in escrow over the construction period. Know the amounts, the dates, and what happens to those funds before you commit.
• Review the Developer’s Public Report — This is the document that governs the sale. It sets out the unit descriptions, common and limited common elements, the association budget, use restrictions, and the developer’s reserved rights.
• Thirty-day cancellation window — Under Hawai‘i condominium law you have 30 days from delivery of the developer’s report and project documents to cancel, with your deposit refunded less escrow cancellation costs up to $250. Use that month to actually read the documents.
• Thirty-day arbitration opt-out — Separately, you generally have 30 days from the date of the sales agreement to elect out of its arbitration provisions and class action waiver. Miss the window and both bind you. Most buyers never learn this exists.
• Confirm the club terms in writing — Mohala membership is not the association. Get the initiation, dues, transferability on resale, and what happens if you decline membership, in a document you can hold.
• Confirm the rental rules — If any part of your plan involves leasing the residence, get the minimum lease term and any registration or cap provisions from the declaration and house rules before signing. Short-term and vacation rental use is prohibited across Ward Village.
• Construction, walkthrough, and closing — Your orientation walkthrough happens before closing. If completion does not occur by the outside date in your sales agreement, cancellation is generally among your remedies — check the specific language.

Developer & Project Details

Interested in ‘Ilima at Ward Village?

Get current availability and pricing, the Developer’s Public Report, the full carrying-cost picture including Mohala terms — or talk through how ‘Ilima compares to Melia, Kalae, Waiea, and the wider O‘ahu luxury market. Connect with us before your first visit to the sales gallery, because representation is difficult to add after the fact.

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