The McCully & Mo’ili’ili neighborhoods started as low-lying, flat, agrarian communities of Hawaiian & Chinese farmers with taro and rice as key crops. The opening of the Mo’ili’ili Quarry saw an influx of Japanese & Portuguese laborers and small businesses. Urban infill happened in the years following the closing of the quarry. Intermittently, as single family homes deteriorate and are demolished, high-rise condos have infiltrated the area.

A UH @ Mānoa study in 2014 described the area as … to put it kindly … ripe for reinvestment. As of 2023, little has improved. However, from a real estate investment standpoint, the area’s central location dictates that whenever modernization occurs, the value of homes/land in the area will be worth orders of magnitude more than they are today, so investment here is smart for those who can afford the indefinite wait.