Eight Ultra-Cool Features of A‘eo at Ward Village

With so much high-rise construction happening in the Ward Village and Kaka‘ako areas, it’s hard to know where to begin to look. It’s easy to think that it’s all super-luxury and priced right out of your budget, as well. Think again!

A‘eo is one of the newest Howard Hughes projects in the area and when we did a little digging, we discovered a few key features we thought were very appealing (at least to a bunch of writers and creative types who keep this blog robust with the latest real estate happenings and content). Here’s what caught our eye about A‘eo – which, incidentally, is the name of a stilt bird that once populated the salt and fish ponds that were the hallmark of this section of the Kewalo Basin.

1. A Rooftop Fitness Pool For Lap Swimmers

Sure there’s ocean all around us, but sometimes the local weather, wave, and wind conditions don’t cooperate with your plans to keep your swim game in top form. Once you’ve become a lap swimmer (if you’ve ever competed for a shiny ribbon, even as an 8-year old, then you’re probably one), it’s really hard to go back. For lap swimmers, fitness doesn’t require a lot of sweating, but it does mean a lot of breath work, timing, and meditative laps back and forth across the pool. But with Honolulu traffic, getting to and from your fitness pool of choice often takes longer than your time spent tracking the blue line of your pool lane.

The amenities deck at A‘eo, with the lap pool, featured at the bottom, and the dog run on the far right.

While many condos have swimming pools, they’re usually too small to really wring much fitness out of them. They’re generally designed for cooling off and socializing. At A‘eo, they have both a family pool as well as a full 25-meter fitness pool on the amenities deck. An Olympic-sized pool is 50 meters, so this is considered a short-course, but it’s still way longer than your average condo or hotel pool. With ocean views, you can zip down to the deck for some lap swimming anytime, avoiding the city traffic, parking and membership fees you might pay to swim at a private club. There’ll be no more excuses to miss your weekly swim sessions as a resident of A‘eo.

 2. An Outdoor Dog Run

If you’re a dog lover, you may have a perceived obstacle to living in a high-rise or condo. What do you do if nature gives your dog a call at 3 a.m.? Who wants to be wandering around the city in their pajamas or bathrobe waiting for Fido to do his business? Not us. That’s why we were excited when we noticed an outdoor, grassy dog run on the amenities deck at A‘eo. While there is plenty of green space built, by design, into Ward Village, and Ala Moana Beach Park is right across the way – it’s nice to know that your furry family members have a place to hang out (kind of like their own swanky, exclusive dog park) without ever having to leave the building.

3. Trade Wind Maps

Okay, these have absolutely no practical purpose, but when we understood that the architectural features on the exterior of the building and even inside the A‘eo lobby were designed to mimic a wind map and the trade winds that blow in Honolulu – well, we were kind of intrigued. Smitten, really. It’s this kind of thoughtful design feature that extends to other parts of the development. While the wind patterns are there to beautify the space, they also lend a unique sense of place to the building. Once you see them for what they are, it’s hard not to picture this wind map in your mind’s eye every time you look at them. Beautiful aren’t they?

4. Wings Above Those Winds

Since the A‘eo project is named for a bird, having wings on the building is a really lovely nod to the overall design concept, name, and location. But these wings are also functional. No, they won’t let you fly, but they do afford condos on the Diamond Head and Ewa sides of the building an ocean view, and that means so much to residents. A‘eo at Ward Village is located at 1001 Queen Street in Honolulu, while the tower slices from mauka to makai at Kamake’e Street. The Ewa and Diamond Head sides of the building feature these cool wings (that also look like waves), lending the sides of the tower a rippling water effect.

5. Customizable Kitchens

While many condos give you a choice between light or dark cabinetry, the kitchen layouts at A‘eo can be customized, and they offer as many as 7 different finishing packages. Also, all of the kitchens come equipped with high-end Bosch stainless steel appliances. Best of all, the kitchen designs come with super clean, ultra-modern lines, or you can choose from a variety of attractive packages to personalize your space. There’s not really a cookie cutter feel to the kitchens here, so you can have a little fun deciding what works best for you (if you’re single) and your family (if you’re not).

6. A Rooftop Deck As a Gathering Place

Sweeping, panoramic views, abundant sunshine, trade winds, and sunsets – and these aren’t just reserved just for the owners of the penthouse. Instead, A‘eo has a rooftop deck for the use and enjoyment of all building residents. With shaded areas, amazing views of the Pacific, an outdoor bar, and varied seating areas, the Sky Terrace is the perfect place for sunset drinks with friends, or to catch the Honolulu fireworks on a Friday night. You can choose your own intimate area, or socialize with neighbors, making it a perfect gathering place right at home in your own building.

7. Direct Access to Whole Foods & Healthy Living

If you’ve ever circled the parking lot at Whole Foods, determined to get fresh, organic and healthy groceries for your fridge, but felt frustrated trying to find a spot at the popular health food supermarket, stress no more. Living at A‘eo, you can leave your car in the garage. The building offers direct elevator access into what is to be O‘ahu’s flagship Whole Foods location, on the Ewa makai corner of Queen Street and Kamake’e Street. When combined with the development’s air-conditioned gym that incorporates outdoor exercise spaces, the aforementioned fitness pool, and easy access to Ala Moana Beach Park, the building’s connection to Whole Foods makes a healthy lifestyle incredibly easy to pursue.

8. Starting at Just $800K

Okay, did we mention the price? Ward Village offers this walkable lifestyle – in walking distance to downtown Honolulu, to Ala Moana Center and to Ala Moana Beach Park – starting at just $800,000. There are currently 98 units available in this 466-unit development, now selling in studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom configurations. The proximity to dining, nightlife and your workplace make it a super attractive package, given that you could probably give up your car in favor of walking,  Uber, cabs, public transit and Biki bikes to get around Honolulu’s hippest neighborhood.