/ Mililani Town
June 4, 2008

Mililani Townturns 40 years old this month. Yes, the first 112 homes in Mililani went on sale in June 1968 - the price range was $25,500 to $35,000 for a four bedroom. People flocked to buy them with a waiting list of over two thousand. These same houses sell for over $600,000 today. We purchased our house in 1975 so we have been living in Mililani for 33 of its 40 year history.

Mililani is located in the center of Oahu (see above map –Mililani Town is circled in red) and sits on the former plantation pineapple and sugar cane fields owned by Castle & Cooke. Mililani is a planned community. Homes, schools, parks, shopping centers etc. all following a master plan. There are no driveways and no parking on the main thoroughfares to make it safer and keep traffic moving. And you'll notice as you drive around, there are trees everywhere. The plan calls for at least seven trees per home. The overall plan calls for a total of 15,000 homes with a population of about 50,000 people. Mililani is getting close to those numbers since the estimated 2008 population is around 45,000.

The latest increment of houses being built in Mililani is on the mountain side (East) of the H2 Freeway. This newer and more upscale community is called Mililani Mauka. The first homeowners moved into Mililani Mauka in 1992 and they continue to build more homes today. Almost all of Mililani's commercial and retail centers are in the original Mililani Town (on the West side of the freeway). Mililani has three shopping centers – the first one is called the MililaniShopping Centerand is located close to where the first homes were built. Its anchor stores include Foodland, Ross, 24-Hour Fitness and The Shack (Mililani’s only sports bar). The second shopping center is located on the golf course side of Kam Highwayand is called Mililani Market Place. It has a Safeway Market and a Long’s Drug. The latest and biggest shopping center (with over a hundred stores) is called the Mililani TownCenter. Its anchor stores include a Wal-Mart, Star Market, Long’s Drug, City Mill, Zippy’s and a 14-theater complex. Most health care and professional offices are also located here. About the only other commercial businesses in Mililani are the golf course and the post office. MililaniHigh School is one of the biggest schools in Hawaii and is located on a large campus with various facilities. The football field is pictured at the top of this column. The rest of Mililani is pretty much a “bedroom” community.

/ In 1986, Mililani was named an AllAmericanCity. It is the only community in Hawaii ever to receive this distinction.
Mililani is the third wealthiest zip code (96789) in the state of Hawaii, according to the 2006 ranking by Pacific Business News.

Mililani is the second highest city (at 720 feet) on the island of Oahu (Wahiawa is the highest at 920 feet). Temperaturesare usually 5 degrees cooler than Honolulu and other leeward sea level cities. The normal highs are in the low 80’s and the normal lows are in the high 60’s.

Here are some other reasons why I like Mililani:

1. It is a clean city.

- Common areas and the parks are cleaned daily.

- There is no graffiti or litter. When there is some, it gets painted over or picked up immediately.

- There are no junk cars in people's yards. There are no tall weeds either.

- You cannot paint your house purple or orange - all houses have to be an "earth" color.

2. There are lots of parks.

- Every house in Mililani is within a block or two of a park.

- Most parks have a swimming pool, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, and play grounds for the young kids.

3. The neighborhoods are quiet.

- Houses are not built on or facing busy highways. Most houses are on loops or deadend streets (cul-de-sacs).

- There are no noisy businesses.

- There are no tall buildings. (There is a two story limit)

- There are rules on loud parties etc.

4. The city is safe and you can walk your dog or get some exercise whenever you want.

5. The weather is great (cool for Hawaii) and the air is clean.

6. Honolulu and Hawaii’s great ocean beaches are less than 30 minutes away.

Front view of our house in Mililani / Mililani par-72 6,455-yard Golf Course

Are there any down sides to living in Mililani? I don’t think so but the three most common complaints are:

-Even though you own your house and the land it sits on, you still must follow the Mililani Town Association rules. You have to sign a legal document stating you will do this and pay a monthly maintenance fee. Some people just don’t like to follow rules especially the ones who have been fined for breaking them.

-Schofield Barracks Army Base is located a couple of miles away. Once or twice a month they conduct “live” fire training exercises. This gun fire bothers some people even though this noise is explained to every home owner before you can buy a house.

-The dirt in Mililani is a bright red color. Some people complain that their dog and kids tramp in this red dirt and it ruins their carpet and furniture. I guess black, gray and brown dirt doesn’t hurt carpets!

Mililani is just a beautiful well planned community with a beautiful climate. It is a great to live and I even like the red dirt.