Developer downsizes long-planned Honolulu condominium project

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The developer of a condominium project planned for the southern slopes of Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu has downsized the development, according to plans submitted to the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting.

Honolulu-based Prospect Properties LLC is requesting a special district permit for the project, which is being called Skyline Honolulu.

The firm, which is utilizing Honolulu-based PBR Hawaii & Associates as a consultant, has plans to develop a four-story, 40-foot condo with up to 110 units, recreation facilities and a parking structure on about 1.6-acres of land.

Plans for Skyline Honolulu once called for 140 units in a five-story building.

The developer bought and consolidated 1.6 acres of land along Prospect Street in 2007.

But since then, the project has not made any major moves towards development. Bill Deuchar, who is listed as the manager of Prospect Properties, previously told PBN that a much improved economy today is the main reason why the project has been revisited.

A public hearing for Skyline Honolulu is scheduled for Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. at the Mission Memorial Conference Room in the Mission Memorial Building at 550 S. King St. in Honolulu.

PBN first reported that the developer was reviving its project.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

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Park Shore Waikiki Hotel goes on the market for undisclosed price

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The Park Shore Waikiki Hotel is on the market for an undisclosed price, according to a listing from CBRE Hawaii Inc., which is marketing the sale of the leasehold property.

The 221-room, 18-story hotel at 2586 Kalakaua Ave., which was built in 1968, includes 17,661 square feet of commercial space.

Honolulu-based Sasada International LLC, whose chairman is Masanori Sasada, owns the hotel at the corner of Kalakaua and Kapahulu avenues across from the Honolulu Zoo.

Honolulu-based CunhaAina LLC, which has ties to the Bishop Trust Co. Ltd., owns the 39,616 square feet of land that the hotel sits on.

The Park Shore Waikiki Hotel is currently being managed by Aqua Hospitality LLC.

The sales listing notes that significant renovations “will provide the foundation to reposition the hotel as an upscale property with higher level of service, room condition and guest amenities enabling the property to attract a more sophisticated traveler willing to pay a higher room rate than what is currently generated.”

ISasada International purchased the hotel from Blackstone Group for $56.1 million in 2007, according to public records.

Blackstone inherited the Park Shore, which is anchored by Lulu’s Surf Club Waikiki Beach, when it acquired Wyndham International Inc. in 2005.

At the time, the company decided to combine 14 Wyndham properties with seven other hotels and resorts that Blackstone already owned to form LXR Luxury Resorts.

Patriot American Hospitality Inc., a Dallas-based investment trust, bought the Park Shore for $24 million from Japan-based Universal Express (Hawaii) Inc. in 1997. The Japan firm had bought the hotel, once managed by Aston Hotels & Resorts, in 1973 for $5.8 million.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Oahu median home price rises 4% to $710k as sales jump 12%

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july_harThe median sales price of a single-family home on Oahu rose 4 percent in July to a year-to-date high of $710,000 amid a 12 percent rise in sales, compared to the same time last year, according to a monthly report released Friday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

In all, single-family home sales rose by 12.3 percent last month to 337 homes sold, compared to 300 homes that were sold in July 2014. The median sales price of those homes rose by 3.9 percent to $710,000 last month, from $683,500 during the same time last year.

The median price was a high for 2015, topping the $700,000 median price set in June, but falling short of the record all-time high of $719,500 set in November.

“July continued the healthy trend in housing sales that we saw in the previous month,” Honolulu Board of Realtors President Jack Legal said in a statement.

Condominium sales rose 12.8 percent last month to 501 units sold, from 444 units sold during the same time last year. The median sales price of those units, however, dipped slightly by 0.5 percent to $350,000 last month, from $351,750 in July 2014.

Still, the decline in condo prices is a positive development, said Legal, who noted that there was a 16 percent jump in the number of condominium units sold that were priced below $350,000.

A total of 256 units were sold in that price range last month. That’s nearly 15.8 percent more than the 221 that were sold in July 2014.

“About a third of these condos were found in four neighborhoods: Makaha and Makakilo in West Oahu, and Makiki and Ala Moana,” Legal said. “It’s encouraging to see more sales of affordable condos, particularly those close in the urban core.”

Year-to-date, the number of single-family homes sold between January and July totaled1,926, a 4.8 percent increase from the 1,837 that were sold in the same seven-month period last year. Meanwhile, the year-to-date median sales price of those homes also rose slightly by 2.3 percent to $690,000, from $674,700 during the same seven-month period last year.

Darin Moriki
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Waikiki condo-hotel project could begin construction in 2016

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Artist rendering of the condominium-hotel project to be built at King's Village in Waikiki

Artist rendering of the condominium-hotel project to be built at King’s Village in Waikiki

The Honolulu developers of a 32-story, 246-unit condo-hotel project in Waikiki that would replace King’s Village, Prince Edward apartments and Hale Waikiki plan to start construction in 2016, according to public documents. Construction is expected to conclude in 2018.

The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group and BlackSand Capital are the developers of the 133 Kaiulani condo-hotel development, which will include 168 studios, 73 one-bedroom units, 1 two-bedroom unit and 2 three-bedroom units in a 350-foot tower, according to the project’s final environmental assessment.

About 85 percent of its units are anticipated to operated in a hotel rental program.
The project’s ground floor will include retail space, a lobby and support spaces.

The reception area, lobby lounge, bar lounge, full-service restaurant and multiple event spaces and executive offices will be located on an amenity deck above the parking floors.

The project’s economic impact will include about $8 million in annual taxes, almost 200 net permanent jobs gained despite the loss of 200 jobs from the demolition of the current buildings, and up to 300 construction jobs, the assessment said.

The developers also plan to set aside $500,000 for beach replenishment or other programs to maintain and expand the beach area, as well as another $500,000 toward construction of ADA improvements for access and a bathroom at the Waikiki Community Center.

The development team paid about $41 million to acquire the King’s Village shopping complex in 2012.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

$29.5M Hawaiian Secret Beach Home, Formerly Will Smith’s Pad, Hits the Market

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While this 28-acre beauty on a bluff overlooking Kauai’s North Store has the attributes you’d expect out of any multi-million dollar tropical escape—pool house, swimming pool, screened-in veranda—it’s ownership history also gets pretty interesting, connecting this Hawaiian escape to some of the richest people in the world. Will Smith picked up the 28-acre property for $13.5 million in 2009, it’s original claim to fame, but then sold it for $20 million in an off-market deal to the heiress of Russian oligarch, Dmitry Rybolovlev, a billionaire fertilizer king who would later be hit with one of the world’s largest divorce settlements ($4 billion). For his daughter, Ekaterina, this property was just part of an eye-popping real estate trust set up in her name, which includes an $88 million Central Park West penthouse and a $95 million Palm Beach home purchased from Donald Trump. A few years ago, Rybolovlev’s estranged wife Elena sued, claiming the trust was a means of protecting these properties from the settlement, but now that the suit has been dismissed, the property is back on the market for $29.5 million.

 

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Developer Haseko seeks change in zoning for updated Hoakalei development plan

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Haseko Inc., the developer of the Ocean Pointe and Hoakalei master-planned communities that cover 1,100 acres in Ewa in West Oahu, is proposing to change the zoning of about 62 acres to allow the developer to switch the project’s focal point to a recreational lagoon instead of the previously planned marina.

Haseko recently submitted its request to the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting, with a public hearing scheduled for May 27.

The developer, which announced it would scrap the marina plans about five years ago, said in its application with the city that the zone change would not alter the totals of 4,850 residential units and 950 units in a hotel project allowed under a prior zoning approval for the site.

The project is also partially within the special management area and shoreline setback area, which Haseko said it would address separately.

The land to be rezoned is located within the last undeveloped phase of the project.

Under the updated plan, Haseko is seeking to complete the development by using the existing basin as a recreational lagoon surrounded by a combination of resort, residential, commercial, light industrial and public open space rather than converting it into a small boat marina, according to a draft environmental impact statement filed for the project.

Other updates include building a protected public swimming cove on the northwest corner of the proposed lagoon, constructing an activity center along a shoreline of the lagoon that would encompass a cultural center, parking lot, comfort station and sandy area for launching canoes, kayaks and other human-powered vessels.

The marina basin was constructed years ago, and an 18-hole golf course designed by legendary South African golfer Ernie Els also is part of the community.

The Hoakalei Country Club was recently sold to a Japanese firm for about $25 million, as first reported by PBN.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Oahu condo sales jump by 22%, home sales rise 7% in June

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A view of the Kakaako skyline on March 9, 2015

A view of the Kakaako skyline on March 9, 2015

The number of condominiums sold on Oahu in June jumped by 22 percent even as the median sales price fell 6 percent compared to the same time last year, while the median price of a single-family home remained flat as the number of sales rose 7 percent, the Honolulu Board of Realtors said Tuesday.

The median price of a single-family home on Oahu in June was $700,000, unchanged from June 2014, while the number of sales rose to 324 homes sold, a 6.9 percent increase from 303 homes sold during the same month a year ago.

The number of condominium units sold on Oahu last month rose to 500 units sold, a 21.7 percent increase from the 411 that were sold in June 2014. The median price of condos, meanwhile, fell by 6 percent to $338,500 last month, from $360,000 during the same time last year.

“June saw a very high volume start to what is traditionally a busy season for housing sales,” Honolulu Board of Realtors President Jack Legal said in a statement.

Legal said the significant jump in condo sales represented “the highest number of sales in a single month since June 2007.”

“The drop in median price is the result of many of this month’s condo sales being in the lower price ranges, and is in line with our staunch belief that Honolulu’s market needs housing at all price points of the spectrum to remain healthy,” Legal said. “It is unclear whether the median price for condos will remain at that level. What is clear is that demand will continue to outstrip supply for the foreseeable future.”

In all, 1,589 single-family homes were sold on Oahu during the first six months of the year — a 3.4 percent increase when compared to the 1,537 that were sold during the first half of last year. By comparison, condominium sales for the first six months of this year rose 3.3 percent from the same period last year to 2,383 sold, from 2,306 homes sold between January and June 2014.

Darin Moriki
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Oahu condo sales jump by 22%, home sales rise 7% in June

Equus Hotel in Waikiki on the market for $22M

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The Equus Hotel in Waikiki, a family-owned and operated boutique condominium-hotel with ties to the Hawaii Polo Club, is on the market for $22 million, according to a listing with CBRE Inc. Hawaii.

The 72-room hotel, which is located at 1696 Ala Moana Blvd., is owned by the Dailey family’s Hawaii Polo Inn LLC.

Mike Dailey, president of Equus Hotel, also heads up the Hawaii Polo Club on Oahu’s North Shore.

In December, the Equus Hotel was rebranded as The Equus, an Ascend Collection member, as part of Choice Hotels International Inc.’s network of unique, boutique or historic independent hotels.

The property includes a 27,476-square-foot building on 0.16 acres.

Duane Shimogawa
Pacific Business News

Hawaii putting up $10M to acquire 500 acres of ag lands in Central Oahu

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Hawaii lawmakers have allocated $10 million for the acquisition of an additional 500 acres of agricultural land in Central Oahu that will be used for a major project aimed at revitalizing the local agriculture industry. The plan is to bring farmers and the state together to increase local food production, create jobs and provide affordable housing.

State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, D-Mililani Mauka-Wahiawa, who is helping to lead the $200 million effort, confirmed the deal to PBN.

Additionally, another $500,000 was appropriated to investigate the feasibility of exchanging state land for agricultural parcels currently owned by Dole Food Co., which is looking to liquidate 15,000 acres, of which more than 5,000 acres are agriculture land, he said.

About a year ago, the state acquired a warehouse from Tamura’s Market in Wahiawa in Central Oahu for $4.3 million, which set in motion The Whitmore Village Agricultural Development Plan.

The plan also includes thousands of acres of farmlands, an agricultural hub that has an ag technology park and ag foreign-trade zone; workforce housing; the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at University of Hawaii Manoa; and the former Tamura’s warehouse.

The state’s Agribusiness Development Corp., along with Dela Cruz, are leading the charge to help bring to life the Whitmore Project.

So far, besides the warehouse, the plan has completed several steps, including the purchase of 1,700 acres of Galbraith Estate land and a 24-acre parcel formerly owned by Castle & Cooke, as well as securing public-private partnerships with the High Technology Development Corp., the Hawaii Housing Finance Development Corp., Agribusiness Incubator Program, Hawaii Department of Education and the Wahiawa Community Based Development Organization.

Duane Shimogawa
Pacific Business News

Honolulu’s University Square mixed-use center for sale with redevelopment opportunity

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University Square, a 40,412-square-foot mixed-use center near the University of Hawaii at Manoa, is on the market either as a leasehold or fee simple sale, with the opportunity to redevelop the property for retail, office or residential use, the firm marketing the property confirmed to PBN.

The owners of the land include Emily Moriyama Trust, M Ishii Inc. and Tatsumi Matsumoto Trust, with CPB Properties Inc. as the owner of the building.

CPB Properties includes former Central Pacific Bank executive Naoaki Shibuya and Austin Imamura, CEO of Pacific Rim Bank, which is merging with California’s First Foundation Bank.

JLL, which is marketing the property for the owners, noted that University Square is first being offered as a long-term ground lease, and secondly as a fee-simple sale for $12.5 million.

The total assessed value of the property, which consists of 35,225-square-feet of land and is located at 2615 S. King St., is about $10.2 million, according to tax records.

Built in 1957 at the corner of University Avenue and King Street in the Honolulu neighborhood of Moiliili, the property has an occupancy rate of 81 percent and is currently under a long-term ground lease, which is set to expire at the end of the year.

The new ground lessee may choose to re-tenant the building or redevelop the site into other uses, including residential, office or retail.

Central Pacific Bank, Purple Yoga and Golden Dynasty Chinese Restaurant are some of the tenants at University Square.

Duane Shimogawa
Pacific Business News