Honolulu’s growth map is quietly getting redrawn, and Castle & Cooke wants a front-row seat. After decades of pushing out to the suburbs, the longtime developer is now steering hard toward dense, rail-linked projects in the city’s core, zeroing in on Iwilei and the old Dole cannery grounds as a future mixed-use hub.
The shift could turn what has long been an industrial pocket into a vertical neighborhood of housing, offices and retail clustered around coming rail stations. For nearby residents and commuters, that likely means taller towers, busier sidewalks and a lot more life packed into a relatively small slice of town.
As reported by Pacific Business News, Garret Matsunami, president of Castle & Cooke Hawai‘i, said the company is moving away from greenfield master plans toward projects “in the urban core” and described Iwilei as a potential “Kakaako West” with both commercial and residential components. Matsunami, who took over as president in March 2025, has overseen the company’s Koa Ridge and other major residential projects, according to industry reporting.
What Castle & Cooke Owns In Iwilei
State planning documents put Castle & Cooke’s Iwilei footprint at about 18.7 acres, commonly rounded to roughly 19 acres, centered on the former Dole pineapple cannery site. As outlined by HHFDC/DBEDT, that land sits squarely inside the Iwilei master-planning area that officials expect to reshape for transit-oriented development. The company already runs the Shops at Dole Cannery and an adjacent office and retail campus, according to Castle & Cooke.
Why The Shift Matters For Rail And Housing
State and city planners see Iwilei and nearby Kapālama as one of Honolulu’s biggest transit-oriented development opportunities, thanks to the planned Kūwili and Niuhelewai rail stations and long-term infrastructure upgrades in the works. As reported by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the state has floated about $1.6 billion in sewer, drainage and power improvements that would be needed to support dense housing in the corridor.
What Comes Next
Turning old industrial parcels into new neighborhoods will not be quick or cheap. Environmental reviews, cleanup work and major utility upgrades are all expected to shape the schedule for any large-scale project in Iwilei. State reports note legacy contamination in the area and identify infrastructure improvements as key cost drivers, according to the Hawaii Department of Health.
Castle & Cooke’s new game plan is effectively a test of whether Hawai‘i’s big developers are ready to embrace infill and transit-oriented building in Honolulu instead of relying on the greenfield suburbs that defined past growth. Look for master-planning efforts, public meetings and entitlement battles to surface over the next year as the company and public agencies line up what could become one of the island’s most closely watched urban redevelopments.
