California-based Pacrep LLC’s plan to build a second condo-hotel tower in Waikiki that would be next door to its The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach project currently under construction on Kuhio Avenue, cleared a key environmental hurdle with the City and County of Honolulu determining that no environmental impact statement will be needed for the development.

The city also said that the $159.5 million, 39-story project at 2139 Kuhio Ave. should pose no significant impact to the environment, according to a recently filed final environmental assessment for the project, which was posted in the most recent edition of the Hawaii Office of Environmental Quality Control’s Environmental Notice.

The project, which includes up to 280 units with support facilities, resident services, recreational amenities and commercial uses, is expected to share an eight-story building podium with the nearby Ritz-Carlton Residences.

The project, which is expected to be completed over a two-year period with a tentative start date in April and a finish date of June 2015, expects to create about 275 jobs during the construction period and projects more than $174 million in on-site sales that would generate about $1.16 million in conveyance tax revenues for the state, the developer said.

Pacrep said that there’s a great need for this project, especially considering that there has been a significant reduction in hotel units in the area since 2003, including the Ohana Hobron conversion of 596 hotel rooms to a 181-unit condo and the net loss of 1,300 hotel rooms at the Waikiki Beach Walk redevelopment, totaling 1,896 units.

Additionally, the proposed redevelopment of the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani hotel will result in a net loss of 430 hotel units with the International Market Place redevelopment resulting in a loss of 358 hotel units at the Miramar Waikiki hotel, bringing the total hotel units lost and to be lost at 2,684 units.

Jason Grosfeld, managing member of Pacrep, also recently purchased property at 258 Beach Walk and 260 Beach Walk in Waikiki for $9 million. It’s still unclear as to what the plans are for this property.