CheapTickets.com founders buy oceanfront Kahala estate for $11M cash

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A Hawaii couple who founded CheapTickets.com have purchased a beachfront estate in Honolulu’s posh Kahala neighborhood for $11.5 million in cash, one of the highest recorded sales of a single-family home on Oahu so far this year, according to public records.

Designed by Hawaii architect John Hara in 2002, the 5,838-square-foot five-bedroom, six-bathroom home sits on a nearly 0.8-acre parcel at 4711 Kahala Ave.

It was previously owned by Karl Essig, a former Morgan Stanley executive, and Megumi Essig.

Michael and Sandra Hartley, who both founded CheapTickets.com in Honolulu in 1986, are the new owners of the property, which includes a chef’s kitchen and guest apartment.

The estate, which was on the market for just 79 days, has a total assessed value of about $9.7 million.

The Essigs purchased the property for $4.5 million in 1999.

CheapTickets.com is now owned by Orbitz Worldwide Inc. The travel discounter closed its Honolulu call center in 2003, leaving about 200 people without a job.

The Hartleys founded the company at a kiosk location in Honolulu and built it into one of the nation’s larger travel discounters, with five call centers across the country. More than 400 people worked for the company in Honolulu by 2000.

In 2001, Cendant Corp., a conglomerate that already had its own travel discount service, acquired Cheap Tickets Inc. for $280 million. Then in 2006, it was included in a sale to Orbitz.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Kailua estate near President Obama’s vacation home is on the market for $28M

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51A sprawling 2.5-acre Hawaii oceanfront estate located near President Barack Obama’s vacation home is on the market for $28 million.

Located at 51 Kaikea Place in Kailua in Windward Oahu, the estate includes three homes, including a main residence, a guest home and a caretaker home, designed by Hawaii architect Fritz Johnson.

The homes were renovated in 2008, containing a total of 7,851 square feet of living area, 4,466 square feet of open lanai area, 1,121 square feet of storage space and 870 square feet of garage/carport areas. All fixtures, furniture and equipment are included in the sale, excluding the paintings.

Scott Eden of Newmark Grubb CBI is representing the owner in the sale. Property records show that “51 Kaikea LLC,” is the owner of the property, with Keiichi Kojima as its manager.

The property, which includes a total of four parcels, has a total assessed value of about $24.3 million, according to tax records. In 2008, the main parcel was purchased by 51 Kaikea LLC for $22 million, with two adjacent parcels purchased for $4 million.

“[The owner] spent $7 million to remodel the property, and to build a caretaker’s house on one of the front parcels,” Eden told PBN in an email, noting that the property was previously listed in January for $38 million.
The sale also includes the two adjacent 10,000-square-foot parcels in front of the main gate that may be used for additional residences.

“Land of this sheer size is becoming increasingly hard to find on Oahu, particularly in such a desirable location,” Eden said.

President Obama and his family arrived in Hawaii this past weekend for their annual family vacation, and the 51 Kaikea Place estate is located less than five minutes away from their vacation compound in Kailua.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

51a

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Sylvester Stallone’s former Hawaii estate sold to GoPro’s first hire for $5.4M

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Sylvester Stallone's former Hawaii estate sold to GoPro's first hire for $5.4M

Sylvester Stallone’s former Hawaii estate sold to GoPro’s first hire for $5.4M

A Hawaii estate once owned by actor Sylvester Stallone, who is currently starring in the latest “Rocky” series film “Creed,” has been sold to camera maker GoPro Inc.’s first employee, according to public records.

Stallone purchased the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home on the island of Kauai’s North Shore back in 1984 for $1.75 million, and sold it in 1999.

The 3,212-square-foot ” Banana Beach House,” which is located on a 13,801-square-foot parcel in Hanalei, was purchased by Banana House LLC for $5.45 million in a deal that closed in late October. The estate has a total assessed value of about $3.5 million, according to tax records.

Banana House was formed by Neil Dana, a college roommate of GoPro founderNick Woodman, who became the first hire for the publicly-traded company that is based in California.

Banana House’s tax bill address lists an address in Half Moon Bay, California, the initial headquarters of GoPro.

Dana made headlines earlier this year after Woodman stuck to his promise to give him a portion of shares of the company, which is valued at nearly $230 million, according to Bloomberg.

Dana is currently the music director for GoPro.

Woodman himself recently purchased property in Hawaii on the North Shore of the island of Oahu.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

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A and B subsidiary looking to develop vacant Kahala Avenue oceanfront parcel

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kahala_luxuryA subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has transferred the ownership of one of its vacant oceanfront Kahala Avenue properties it purchased in 2013 from Japanese businessman Genshiro Kawamoto to itself, a company spokeswoman confirmed to PBN.

A&B Properties Inc. said it is exploring potential residential construction on the vacant parcel.

The Honolulu-based real estate arm of A&B acquired about 30 of Kawamoto’s Kahala properties for close to $100 million, including the little more than one-acre vacant parcel at 4607 Kahala Ave.

In May, A&B Properties, which formed 4607 Kahala LLC, transferred the property over to itself for $17.7 million, according to public records.

The property had been on the market for $18.5 million, according to a listing from Honolulu-based List Sotheby’s International Realty.

Kawamoto purchased the property for $11 million in 2006 from Alteka Co. Ltd.

The property has a total assessed value of $8.3 million, according to tax records.

In 2009, Kawamoto was issued a building permit by the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting to demolish the one-story home at the rear of the property.

No building permits have been filed since that time.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

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Hawaii pop star Bruno Mars sells Hawaii home for $2.7M

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001Hawaii-born Grammy-winning singer Bruno Mars’ Honolulu home, which was originally put on the market last year for $3.5 million, has been sold for $2.7 million, according to public records.

PBN first reported that the Roosevelt High School alumnus listed his two-story home last year for $3.5 million, according to the Realtor who listed the East Honolulu property.

However, earlier this year, David Buck, the Realtor for Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, who had the listing, told PBN that Mars decided to take his home off the market.

The asking price was eventually lowered to $2.99 million with a new listing agent.

The total assessed value of the property is about $2.6 million, with the land valued at nearly $1.4 million and the home, which was built in 1991, valued at $1.25 million.

The closure of the sale of Mars’ home was on May 19.

Mars, who gave a rousing performance at the Super Bowl halftime show a year ago and shortly after made appearances in Honolulu for several shows, bought the four-bedroom, 4,124-square-foot home in Portlock in 2012 from John Browning, heir to the Utah-based firearms company Browning, for $3.1 million, according to property records.

The property is situated just one home away from the ocean on more than a third of an acre, and has a pool, hot tub and a cabana with a gas grill and kegerator, the listing said.

Duane Shimogawa
Pacific Business News

Oahu luxury home sales soar by 54% in April,

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The number of luxury homes and condominiums that sold for at least $1 million on Oahu rose by 54 percent last month compared to the same time last year, according to a monthly analysis.

In all, 83 luxury homes, defined as those that sold for $1 million or more, changed hands in April — a jump from 54 in April 2014.

The median sales price for those luxury properties dropped to $1.31 million last month compared to $1.4 million in 2014.

“Year-to-date sales of single-family homes over $1 million indicate a strong performance compared to the same period a year ago,”. “Specifically, sales in the $1-million to $2-million price range are up 40 percent while the $2-million to $6-million price range are down by 45 percent.”

In all, a total of 72 homes were sold in the $1 million to $2 million price range. Nine more, meanwhile, were sold in the $2 million to $4 million price range. Only two Oahu properties were sold last month for at least $4 million.

Kakaako led the island in luxury property sales last month with eight closed sales, followed by Diamond Head with five closed sales, and Lanikai and Waikiki with four closed sales for each neighborhood.

“Based on the current rate of sale, we only have four months of inventory remaining for single-family homes in this segment — a balanced market is six months of inventory,” Nakagawa said. “Meanwhile, the higher price ranges in the luxury market have not been selling as briskly. The units in escrow (or forward sales) for single-family homes show that this trend will keep going.”

More luxury properties in $1 to $2 million price range, she explained, would have to be put up for sale to balance out the market and keep up with the “very, very high demand for these properties.”

Though she has seen more of those homes come on the market over the past few months, the number of those selling for at least $4 million has been building over time as fewer sales for those properties take place, Nakagawa said.

The most expensive home sale recording by Multiple Listing Service data last month was a six-bedroom, four-bath, 3,055-square-foot home in Kailua for $10.5 million.

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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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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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Kahala beachfront property that once hosted presidents and heads of state sells for $19.4M

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A Kahala beachfront property that once hosted presidents and heads of state, before falling into disrepair, has been sold to an unidentified buyer for $19.4 million.

Alexander & Baldwin had bought the property at 4653 and 4653B Kahala Avenue from Japanese businessman Genshiro Kawamoto, who 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 celebrities, presidents and heads of states there.

“This has always been a very prestigious property,” said Perry, who declined to disclose information about the buyer.

She said she did not know the buyer’s plans for the property.

One of the parcels is 26,400 square feet and the other is 36,894 square feet, Perry said.

In September 2013, Alexander & Baldwin paid $98 million for 27 properties that Kawamoto owned. In December of that same year, A&B bought three more properties, including the two that Johnston had owned, for another $30 million.

Perry said the sale represents a milestone in the renaissance of Kahala Avenue.

Coldwell Banker said the sale is the highest-priced land sale on Oahu since 2006.

Bill Cresenzo Reporter – Pacific Business News

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