Room with a View: Waterfront at Pu’uloa in Honolulu

I spy sugar-white sands lining the edges of cerulean lagoons and the Bondi-blue hues of the South Pacific. Staggered swaths of prehistoric-looking foliage protrude just shy of the sands and melt back toward ground in the humid, tropical air. Although this may sound like something from a J.M. Barrie tale, you won’t have to head for the second star to the right and straight on until morning to reach the Waterfront at Pu’uloa, a Cirrus Asset Management-managed community located approximately 30 miles west of Honolulu in Ewa Beach.

“I absolutely love it,” says Mary Lobo, property supervisor and resident at The Waterfront. “There’s nothing like us anywhere in The Islands.” The community, which flaunts nearly a mile of practically private beaches, has made headway in a relatively slow Oahu rental market thanks to an abundance of marketable amenities such as a massive fitness center, an on-site elementary school, basketball and tennis courts, two lagoons, a walking path, and more than 400 acres of open space that includes the beach.

“I love living here,” says Evalani Exner, also a resident and staff member. “I wouldn’t move until they made me move. This is home for me.”

Tucked away on Iroquois Point, near the mouth of Pearl Harbor, this 1,461-unit and former military-housing community boasts a superfluous list of comforts and activities, in addition to its pleasantly secluded south Oahu location.

Those activities include a twice-a-year, community-wide yard sale, a “Santa Parade” that highlights floats from the community, and an annual triathlon held in March that has yielded participants ranging from 3 to 80 years old.

The Waterfront at Pu’uloa, currently owned by Oahu’s Ford Island Housing LLC, was constructed by the military in the 1960s, with the addition of newer townhomes in the 1970s, and was used as Navy housing until 2003 when the Department of Defense got out of the housing market.

Cirrus took over the management responsibilities in June of 2008 and despite the recent conversion to publicly available housing, The Waterfront continues to be a desired location for both military and civilian families.

This tie to the military is evident, as the community recently hosted the Sixth Annual U.S. Vets 5K Patriot Run/Walk, which saw more than 450 participants. “Our connection with our service members and their families is always a delightful experience,” Lobo says.

In addition to its affiliation to the military, Lobo says the community is home to other organizations and clubs such as the Boy and Girl Scouts, a Mommy’s Group, The Shoreline Casting Club, which utilizes the property’s prime fishing spots, a paddling club that offers free canoe rides to residents and a scrap-booking club.

The Waterfront offers a wide selection of two-, three-, and four-bedroom units, starting at around $1,500 per month, depending on proximity to the beach. The community is gated and has round-the-clock guarded access. “When you arrive here, you know you’re home,” Lobo says.