Kuhio Avenue landowners request zoning change

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A hui of Waikiki landowners led by Waikiki Pride LLC is requesting a zoning change for several parcels on the mauka side of Kuhio Avenue between Kaiulani and Liliuokalani avenues that will open the door to possible conversions and allow for different uses.

However, the landowners do not have any development plans and are adamant about keeping the buildings as they are

The zoning application, accepted by the City & County of Honolulu’s Department and Planning and Permitting on Feb. 13, asks to change eight parcels totaling 1.25 acres along two blocks on Kuhio Avenue from Apartment Precinct to Apartment Mixed Use Subprecinct.

The change would allow for eight new commercial uses, including convenience stores, retail and eating establishments, financial institutions, medical clinics, real estate offices, travel agencies and personal services that can include anything from a barbershop and hair salon to laundry cleaning and wedding services.

The zoning change was initiated by Waikiki Pride LLC, the holding company for Justin Alexander and his mother and sister. Together, they purchased a 4,531-square-foot parcel and a plantation-style home on the corner of Kuhio Avenue and Kapuni Street for $1 million in May 2013, according to public records.

Alexander said he has no plans to redevelop his parcel. He spoke to PBN from Colorado, where Waikiki Pride LLC is registered, but said he was born in Kailua, lives in Hawaii most of the year, and has family on the Big Island.

If the zoning change is approved, he would keep the house as it is, but would remove a section of wrought iron fence and set up an open-air art market offering one-of-a-kind Hawaiian cultural art.

“I personally believe keeping and preserving a home like this in the midst of high-rise condos accentuates the character of Waikiki,” Alexander told PBN.

Alexander met with neighboring landowners, who joined together for the zoning change. They include Hawaiian Telcom, which has a utility building in the area; Copley Investment Group LLC, the owners of Vive Hotel Waikiki; and several apartment and condominium owners.

“The main justification for requesting a change in zoning … is that many areas are already developed with apartments and mixed uses,” he said.

In addition to the hotel, Hy’s Steakhouse, a real estate office, the Lucoral Museum and a now-closed ABC Store are all within the area. Alexander said that this section of Kuhio had historically been mixed use, but was changed to apartment precinct in the 1980s.

“Waikiki is plagued with many nonconforming issues,” he said. “A change to apartment mixed-use sub-precinct solves many of these nonconforming issues.”

The application, file number 2015/Z-2, can be viewed at the Department of Planning and Permitting. The department will be accepting comments until March 30.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Kuhio Avenue landowners request zoning change

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The beachfront property once owned by Hawaii philanthropist Cecily Johnston has been sold for $19.4 million to a Singapore-based developer.

The beachfront property once owned by Hawaii philanthropist Cecily Johnston has been sold for $19.4 million to a Singapore-based developer.

Far East Organization, one of the largest private property developers in Singapore, paid $19.4 million for Kahala beachfront property that once hosted presidents and heads of state, according to public records.

PBN reported on the sale in November 2014, although it wasn’t known at that time who the buyer was.

Singapore-based Boo Han Holdings Pte. Ltd., an investment holding and property development firm and a subsidiary of Far East Organization, bought the properties at 4653 and 4653-B Kahala Ave. fromAlexander & Baldwin Inc., which in 2013 bought them from Japanese businessman Genshiro Kawamoto as part of a larger acquisition.

Kawamoto demolished the residence and allowed the property to deteriorate.

It had once been the home of Hawaii philanthropist Cecily Johnston, co-founder of Pacific Construction Co., who hosted such famous guests as President Ronald Reagan and former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

In September 2013, A&B paid $98 million for 27 properties that Kawamoto owned and about three months later bought three more properties, including the two that Johnston had owned, for another $30 million.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

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D.R. Horton gives five acres of Hoopili to Hawaiian Humane Society

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hawaiian-humane-societycameron-nekota-600D.R. Horton — Schuler Homes, the developer of the 11,750-home Hoopili project, has donated five acres from the West Oahu master-planned community to the Hawaiian Humane Society for a second campus, the organizations announced Tuesday.

The facility will be located at the corners of Old Fort Weaver and Fort Weaver Road, according to D.R. Horton Vice President Cameron Nekota.

Hawaiian Humane Society President and CEO Pamela Burns said that the nonprofit has been searching for a West Oahu location since 1999.

“It’s through the generosity of D.R. Horton that this is becoming reality for humans and animals that will be served in Hoopili and the entire community,” she said.

Talks with D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) began about five years ago, she said.

The new campus will have a staff of 25, and will serve about 200,000 Leeward residents and 16,000 animals. Services will include admissions, sterilization, lost and found, adoptions and a dog park.

The original 2.5 acre Moiliili campus, which employs 85 people and currently oversees 600 volunteers, will remain as the designated administrative office. An $8 million two-phase expansion and renovation has no set date for construction yet, Burns said Tuesday.

“This is one more step in creating a vision of a true second city in Kapolei,” Nekota said, noting that 74 percent of Leeward residents are pet owners.

More than 26,000 animals arrived at the Moiliili location last year. Sixteen thousand of those are expected to be served at the second campus.

The Hawaiian Humane Society is nearing the end of its $18 million capital campaign, about half of which has been dedicated to Moiliili, and an undisclosed amount will be spent on the West Oahu campus.

Burns said that there is no estimated opening date, and more details will be worked out in the next six to 12 months.

D.R. Horton — Schuler Homes LLC, told PBN that it plans to tentatively start construction on Hoopili sometime in 2016, but still needs approval from the City and County of Honolulu to change the zoning for the land from agricultural to urban.

Lorin Eleni Gill Reporter – Pacific Business News

Gentry Homes developing residential project near Kapolei Golf Course

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Gentry Homes Ltd., one of the largest home builders in Hawaii, plans to build a residential development with between 50 and 100 homes near the Kapolei Golf Course in West Oahu, one of the company’s top executives confirmed to PBN on Tuesday.

Gentry Homes, through its subsidiary, Gentry KGC LLC, recently purchased 17 acres of land on the Honolulu side of the golf course from HGP LLC, a subsidiary of Pacific Links Hawaii, which formerly owned the course as well, for $7.5 million.

Quentin Machida, vice president and chief financial officer of Gentry Homes, told PBN that the parcel is zoned for single-family homes, and that the developer plans to build that type of product on the land.

“There are some affordable requirements we are going to contend [with],” he said. “Most of these homes will be on the golf course.”

Machida noted that it is in the planning stages right now for the development, and that it will probably take a couple of years before we actually provide homes.

“We still have to go through a bunch of approvals,” he said. “We’re in the early stages of the process.”

Gentry Homes’ newest home developments include Parkside, which borders the Coral Creek golf course in Ewa, Sandalwood, which is located between Fort Weaver Road and Kapolei Parkway, also in Ewa and Mahinui in Kaneohe in Windward Oahu.

Honolulu-based Gentry Homes, which was established in 1968, tallied 160 housing starts in 2012, including single-family homes, multifamily projects and condominiums, according to PBN research.

The company ranked second behind only Honolulu-based Stanford Carr Development that year.

Gentry Homes declined to participate in the 2014 Home Builders list, which utilizes 2013 data.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Currently Available Homes in Gentry Communities

Panda Express billionaire founders buy $15.2M Hawaii oceanfront estate

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Panda Express' billionaire founders recently purchased oceanfront property in Hawaii

Panda Express’ billionaire founders recently purchased oceanfront property in Hawaii

The billionaire husband-and-wife founders of the Chinese fast-food restaurant chain Panda Express have purchased a beachfront mansion on Honolulu’s Kahala Avenue that was once owned by the late Honolulu attorney David Schutter for $15.2 million, according to public records.

Andrew Cherng and Peggy Cherng, who have a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to Forbes, formed CFIC-2014 NV Family Investments LLC for the purchase. The company’s address is the corporate headquarters of California-based Panda Restaurant Group, the parent of Panda Express, Panda Inn and Hibachi-San.

Cherng Family Investments LLC is listed as the manager of CFIC-2014 NV Family Investments, which was formed earlier this month.

The new owners of the Kahala estate plan to demolish the existing 18,000-square-foot home and rebuild, the construction firm owner that will have a hands-on role in the future development of the property for the Cherngs, previously told PBN.

Oahu Auctions held an estate auction on Feb. 28 to liquidate the contents of the 17-bedroom home, which was formerly owned by Japan-based Fuji Fund Ltd., formerly Kirin Planning Ltd.

The property, which had been on the market for about five years, had been listed for $26 million and has a total assessed value of about $23.4 million, according to public records.

Mike Gobran, owner of MBC Construction LLC, said that the owner will demolish the estate, with the new plan for the property going through the design process.

Bank of Hawaii acquired the property through foreclosure in 1995, which. It was purchased by Kirin Planning two years later for $7.2 million, tax records show.

The Cherngs, who founded Panda Express in 1983, have grown the chain to nearly 1,8000 eateries in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, with franchised restaurants in Mexico, Korea and Dubai, according to Forbes.

Kahala Avenue has seen some major activity in sales recently, especially after Alexander & Baldwin Inc.’s (NYSE: ALEX) purchase of Japanese businessman Genshiro Kawamoto’s property on one of the most prestigious streets in Hawaii.

Far East Organization, one of the largest private property developers in Singapore, paid $19.4 million for a Kahala oceanfront property that once hosted presidents and heads of state.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

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Actor Chuck Norris buying Kauai North Shore property

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Celebrity martial artist and actor Chuck Norris is buying Kauai North Shore property, a source told PBN this week.

Norris is the latest celebrity to acquire property on the Garden Isle. Others include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Oakley founder James Jannard.

The source told PBN that Norris, who has starred in several films and television shows, including “Walker, Texas Ranger,” is under contract to buy property at Paradise Island Ranch in Kilauea.

Farther up the North Shore, Jannard is buying several adjacent Hanalei Bay beachfront homes.

In 2012, Jannard’s Kauains LLC purchased a 23,162-square-foot parcel on Weke Road in Hanalei for $13.35 million from Jan Hailey Revocable Trust, near his current purchases. He sold it to Waioli Surf Shack Holdings LLC for $15 million a year later, according to public records.

Waioli Surf Shack Holdings has purchased five properties, a mix of vacant land and parcels with homes on them, for about $50 million.

Waioli Surf Shack Holdings’ C. Frederick Taylor is a partner in the hedge fund TGS Management, which has given almost $2 billion to charity, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

The median price of homes on Kauai’s North Shore topped $1 million last month, according to data from Hawaii Information Service on behalf of the Kauai Board of Realtors.

In the Hanalei district, where the Princeville resort is located, the median price more than doubled to $1.3 million in February, 132 percent more than the median price of $560,000 in February 2014.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Billionaire Larry Ellison’s Musashi mega-yacht docked at Honolulu’s Kewalo Basin Harbor

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Larry Ellison's yacht, Musashi, has been docked at Honolulu's Kewalo Basin.

Larry Ellison’s yacht, Musashi, has been docked at Honolulu’s Kewalo Basin.

Billionaire Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison’s mega-yacht Musashi is back in Hawaii again, docked at Kewalo Basin Harbor near the former Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant property in Honolulu.

It’s not known if Ellison, the 98-percent owner of the island of Lanai, is onboard.

According to those with access, the vessel includes a basketball court and a crane to launch racing boats.

The Howard Hughes Corp., which owns 60 acres across it is currently developing as its Ward Village master-planned community, also recently became the manager of Kewalo Basin Harbor.

A spokeswoman for the Texas-based developer told PBN Thursday that it couldn’t provide any information on Musashi due to its policy on tenant privacy.

In 2013, the 288-foot super yacht, which has five decks, docked at Aloha Tower in Honolulu Harbor for about six months.

It costs $2,193.51 per month to dock a ship that size in Honolulu, not including the costs for electrical and water supply, and a port entry fee of $68.75 to enter the harbor.

Ellison was apparently onboard during his 2013 visit to Hawaii, stopping by Lanai to meet with Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa, among others.

“It’s huge,” Butch Gima, president of the community advocacy organization Lanaians for Sensible Growth, previously told PBN. “I saw it as I was heading down to the harbor to pick someone up.”

About a year ago, a pair of mega-yachts owned by two of the world’s wealthiest people, Microsoft co-founder and Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen and former Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli, were docked at Honolulu harbor.

Allen, along with his research team, recently claimed to have found the wreck of another ship named Musashi, the sunken remains of a World War II Japanese vessel.

He plans to live-stream an underwater tour of that ship.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

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New hotel tower planned for Waikiki

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A Hawaii developer is planning to develop a new hotel in Waikiki

A Hawaii developer is planning to develop a new hotel in Waikiki

A new hotel project in Waikiki is being planned by a Hawaii developer with ties to a partner on the Mainland, an executive with the Honolulu architecture firm that’s part of the project confirmed to PBN.

The new tower, which is in the very early stages of the development process, would be built from the ground up — not a renovation or expansion of an existing property, Craig Takahata, vice president and managing director of WATG, told PBN.

Initial studies are being done on the property, which involves WATG’s high-rise expertise in order to maximize investment and work with development allowances, he said.

Takahata declined to identify the developer, or the exact location of the project.

New hotels built from the ground up are a rarity in the state’s tourism mecca.

There’s California developer Irongate’s Ritz-Carlton, Waikiki Residences two tower project on Kuhio Avenue, which are currently both under construction. Although this project will have a hotel component, it will include also consist of condominium for-sale units.

Plans have also been announced for redevelopments of certain existing properties, such as the King’s Village shopping center by the development team of The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group and BlackSand Capital, which also is being turned into a condo-hotel, like the Ritz project.

There’s also the possible redevelopment of the Waikiki Trade Center into a hotel, according to California-based Coastwood Capital Group, the firm that owns the property.

Additionally, the 659-room Ohana Waikiki West hotel is expected to close down on March 27 for a redevelopment by the new owner — partnership that includes Honolulu’s BlackSand Capital — and reopen next year as the Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki Beach.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort also is getting a new 37-story timeshare tower.

The development action in Waikiki comes as no big surprise, as the area continues to enjoy higher revenue per available room and average daily rates as well as occupancy rates.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Buyer of $8.7M former ‘Magnum, P.I.’ estate has ties to Obama and Hawaii

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The Hawaii estate that was featured on "Magnum, P.I" is seen in this 2012 file photo. The three-acre estate in the East Oahu community of Waimanalo was sold for $8.7 million to a Chicago entity with close ties to President Barack Obama.

The Hawaii estate that was featured on “Magnum, P.I” is seen in this 2012 file photo. The three-acre estate in the East Oahu community of Waimanalo was sold for $8.7 million to a Chicago entity with close ties to President Barack Obama.

The buyer of the $8.7 million Hawaii beachfront estate known as the home of Tom Selleck’s 1980’s television character “Magnum P.I.” — a Chicago entity with close ties to President Barack Obama — has “strong ties to Hawaii,” the firm that represented the seller said Thursday.

The entity that recently closed on the sale, Wamanalo Paradise LLC, lists as its manager Judy Grimanis, an executive assistant for Chicago-based venture capital and private equity firm The Vistria Group, which has ties to Obama, who was born in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School.

Vistria Group is headed up by Obama’s close friend and golf companion Martin Nesbitt, who is also the president of the Barack Obama Foundation, the organization running the effort to build the Obama presidential library. Honolulu is one of four sites vying to host the center.

Also, documents pertaining to the sale were sent to Seth Madorsky, a partner with Chicago-based Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP who is listed as a donor to the Obama presidential campaign in 2012, according to public records.

The listing for the three-acre property received interest from buyers from all over the world, Worrall, who represented the seller — former Republican state Rep. Eve Glover Anderson — told PBN.

Worrall, vice president of List Sotheby’s International Realty, said that the historic oceanfront home in Waimanalo along Kalanianaole Highway, which was built in 1933 and called “Pahonu,” attained more interest from buyers than any other property she has listed in her more than 50 years in the business.

A website set up to market the property garnered more than 50,000 views.

“It was partly because of the association with Magnum [P.I.],” said Worrall, who worked with her daughter, Elizabeth Worrall Daily, to represent the seller. “So many people were trying to get on the property, even willing to pay me to get on it. I finally reached a point that I had five, six, seven or eight inquiries a week. It was an incredible amount of interest.”

In the end, though, before being sold, the seller reduced the price from $10.5 million to $7.5 million, with the property eventually being sold for $8.7 million to Waimanalo Paradise LLC, which was the least complicated and highest offer, meaning that it was an all-cash transaction.

About a year ago, the property was listed for$15.75 million.

Worrall said that Anderson, whose stepmother was the late Barbara Cox Anthony of the Cox Enterprises fortune, wanted to sell to a buyer who would keep the property mostly how it is and not make any major changes. Developers, who did show interest at first, weren’t in the running in the end.

The estate was called “Robin’s Nest” on the “Magnum, P.I.” series, which ran on CBS from 1980 to 1988 and starred Selleck, who is currently starring in another CBS series, “Blue Bloods,” which airs after another Hawaii-filmed series, “Hawaii Five-0,” on Friday nights.

The 11,054-square-foot home sits on about three acres of oceanfront land, with beach access and a turtle pond.

The property has a total assessed value of about $9 million, according to public records.

Mary Worrall declined to divulge any information on the buyer because of a confidentiality agreement she signed, although she spoke pretty candidly about the property.

She said that Anderson, who has been living at the estate, will be moving to an agricultural lot nearby, where she can have all of her pets with her in a medium-sized home.

The property had been in Anderson’s family for more than 80 years.

“Anybody that loves Hawaii, would love the property,” Mary Worrall said. “It’s a really remarkable property and had remained in the family’s hands for quite a while.”

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

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Oahu home prices drop in February after months of gains

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Construction cranes are signs of economic prosperity in Honolulu.

Construction cranes are signs of economic prosperity in Honolulu.

The median price of a single-family home on Oahu fell in February to $648,000, while the median price of a condominium dropped 9 percent, after months of increasing prices, the Honolulu Board of Realtors said Saturday.

The median price of a condo on Oahu last month was $326,000, a 9.3 percent drop from $359,450 in February 2014. The median condo price had hit a new record of $381,500 in January after hitting another record in December.

Sales of condos were also sluggish in February, with 290 units sold, 2 percent fewer than the 296 units that were sold in February 2014.

Sales of single-family homes, however, rose 5.8 percent to 201 homes sold last month, compared to 190 homes sold in February 2014. The median price of $648,000 for a single-family home in February was 4.6 percent lower than the ,edian price of $679,000 in February 2014.

“February is traditionally one of the slowest months of the year for real estate sales,” Jack Legal, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “Of particular interest in this report is the growth of inventory over last year, especially the number of condos that have come onto the market.”

Legal noted that the condo inventory on Oahu grew by 14 percent when compared with February 2014, and the inventory of single-family homes grew 6.4 percent.

“With the increased inventory, as well as continued record low mortgage rates, we encourage potential homebuyers who have been on the fence to look at the various options now available,” he said.

Janis L. Magin Managing Editor – Pacific Business News