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Pacific Business News Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Hawaii Americana Realty

Developer must revise design of proposed Ritz-Carlton Waikiki project

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Developer must revise design of proposed Ritz-Carlton Waikiki project
Staff Pacific Business News  |   Mar 20, 2013, 7:16am HST

This rendering shows Pacrep LLC's proposed 2121 Kuhio project, which will be branded The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach. The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting gave conditional approval on Tuesday to the project but told the developer it must make significant design changes.

This rendering shows Pacrep LLC’s proposed 2121 Kuhio project, which will be branded The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach. The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting gave conditional approval on Tuesday to the project but told the developer it must make significant design changes.

California developer Pacrep LLC has been told to make significant design revisions to a proposed $275 million 350-foot hotel condominium in Waikiki that will be branded as The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach before proceeding with construction.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting gave conditional approval on Tuesday to the project, but said the developer must make changes to the 37-story tower known as 2121 Kuhio to reduce its “apparent mass” which has drawn protests from the community for its wall-like appearance. The newspaper reports the developer was ordered to consider adding such architectural features as graduated, stepped forms, and told to reduce the height of the entry along Kuhio Avenue and increase the commercial space on the ground floor.

The Honolulu City Council gave its approval to the project, which would exceed current height limits by 50 feet, in January.

Pacrep has already revised its plans for the project once before to reduce the width of the building. In December, the developer filed an environmental assessment with the state that proposed changing the original 34-story tower to a 350-foot, 37-story tower, which reduced the width by 48 feet.


Sales begin for affordable condo tower on former Honolulu Advertiser site

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Sales begin for affordable condo tower on former Honolulu Advertiser site

Staff Pacific Business News  |   Mar 8, 2013, 12:04pm HST

This rendering shows Downtown Capital LLC's 801 South St. project, which will be built on the site of the former Honolulu Advertiser building in Honolulu. Courtesy Downtown Capital LLC

This rendering shows Downtown Capital LLC’s 801 South St. project, which will be built on the site of the former Honolulu Advertiser building in Honolulu.
Courtesy Downtown Capital LLC

The sales process for a $200 million high-rise affordable condominium tower planned for the site of the former Honolulu Advertiser building start on Saturday, when prospective buyers can sign up for a lottery for more than half of the 635 units at 801 South St.

Prospective buyers will be able to pick up packets for the 322 studio, one- and two-bedroom units designated as owner-occupant units, which will be assigned in a lottery on March 23.

That is according to a statement from developer Marshall Hung of Downtown Capital LLC, an affiliate of Island Insurance sister company Tradewind Capital LLC, which bought the former Advertiser property from Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) last year for $23 million. The sales office for the project is located a block away at the corner of Keawe and Queen streets.

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Three-quarters of the units in the 46-story building are designated as “work-force housing” for households earning up to 140 percent of the median income in Honolulu. The project was approved by the Hawaii Community Development Authority in December.

Prices start at $253,200 for a 384-square-foot studio apartment; $305,800 for a one-bedroom unit of between 495 square feet and 522 square feet; $405,800 for a 714-square-foot one-bedroom unit with lanai; $394,000 for a 776-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath unit with a lanai; and $422,900 for an 816-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath unit with a lanai, according to a full-page notice in Friday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Marcus & Associates is handling sales for the project.

“This project addresses the critical shortage of housing that Hawaii’s residents can afford in Honolulu’s urban core,” Hung said in a statement. “We are excited about delivering quality housing in Kakaako in support of Gov. Abercrombie’s pledge to make Kakaako a ‘live, work and play’ community.”

The site is currently being used by the CBS television show “Hawaii Five-0” as a soundstage. Production on the show’s third season is scheduled to finish in May. The show is moving to the state’s Hawaii Film Studio at Diamond Head next month, state Film Commissioner Donne Dawson told PBN.

Construction on the project will begin this summer. Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. is the general contractor, and Kazu Yato AIA & Associates Inc. is the project’s architect.

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Hot streak continues for Oahu condo market, single-family-home sales dip slightly

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Hot streak continues for Oahu condo market, single-family-home sales dip slightly

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The number of condominium units sold on Oahu in February was 23 percent higher than the number of units sold in the same month last year, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Janis L. Magin Managing Editor of Digital Content- Pacific Business News | Mar 7, 2013, 11:46am HST

Oahu’s condominium market continued its hot streak in February, with sales increasing by 23 percent and prices rising 8 percent compared to the same month a year ago, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The median price of an Oahu condo rose to $340,000 last month, from $315,000 in February 2012. That was based on sales of 279 condo units last month, compared to 227 units sold in February 2012.

Single-family home sales, meanwhile, declined 7 percent to 201 sales, from 217 sales in February 2012. The median price of a single-family home in February was $600,000, down 4 percent from $625,000 in February 2012.

“These numbers aren’t all that surprising, given that February is typically a down month in Honolulu,” Kevin Miyama, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “We anticipate the numbers will start to climb from now until July, which is the high point in the market.”

Meanwhile, other measures of Honolulu’s real estate market indicate fewer listings that are selling faster.

Inventory — which is the amount of time it would take for all listings to sell if there were no new listings — dropped by more than half for both categories. There were 2.3 months of inventory for single-family homes, 55 percent lower than the 5.1 months of inventory remaining in February 2012.

The 2.6 months of inventory for condos in February represented a 51 percent drop from a year ago, when there were 5.3 months of inventory.

The median number of days it took for a single-family home to sell in February also dropped 22 percent, to 25 days, from 32 days a year ago, while the median days on market for condos fell 21 percent to 34 days, from 43 days a year ago.

“For single-family homes, we’re continuing to see limited inventory and fewer new listings,” Miyama said. “On the condo side, sales were quite good when you consider our inventory was down about 27 percent. Compared to single-family homes, we have more condos on the market, especially in the mid-price range.”

Howard Hughes Corp. expects to make $66M profit from luxury Hawaii condo ONE Ala Moana

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Howard Hughes Corp. CEO David Weinreb told shareholders Tuesday that the developer expects to make a profit of $66 million from the ultra-luxury ONE Ala Moana condominium tower being built next to Nordstrom at Ala Moana Center, seen in this rendering.

Howard Hughes Corp. expects to make $66M profit from luxury Hawaii condo ONE Ala Moana

Janis L. Magin Managing Editor of Digital Content- Pacific Business News
Mar 5, 2013, 12:57pm HST

The Howard Hughes Corp. expects to make a profit of $66 million from the ONE Ala Moana ultra-luxury condominium tower under construction behind Hawaii’s Ala Moana Center shopping mall, the developer’s CEO told shareholders on Tuesday.

Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC) CEO David Weinreb said in a letter to shareholders that the units at the building, which is being developed in a partnership with Hawaii developers the Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group, sold out for an average of $1,170 per square foot.

The cost of the project, including the value of Howard Hughes’ air rights, is about $900 per square foot, which means the developer expects to make a profit of $66 million, Weinreb said.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder, chairman and CEO of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), is reportedly one of the buyers of several multimillion-dollar units in the 23-story ONE Ala Moana project, which is being built atop a parking garage adjacent to the Nordstrom department store.

Weinreb also told shareholders that he expects condo units in Howard Hughes’ Ward Village master plan will command premium prices, based on resale values of another ocean-view condo in Honolulu’s Kakaako neighborhood.

The company expects Ward Village to “capture premiums” in the same way buyers have paid premium prices to live in the company’s Summerlin development near Las Vegas or The Woodlands near Houston.

Weinreb noted that the Ward properties it had acquired from General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) generate about $23 million a year in net operating income. Howard Hughes has plans to build about 500 market-rate units and at least 125 work-force units as part of the Ward Village master plan.

“While we have not yet determined pricing for our first phase towers, market data suggest that comparable existing ‘front row’ product with unobstructed ocean views resold in 2012 at an average price of approximately $1,400 per square foot,” Weinreb wrote. “Hokua, which is the condominium tower adjacent to Ward, resells at the highest average price per foot of any condominium tower in Honolulu, approximately $1,400 per square foot.”

Hokua was also developed by a partnership of the Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group, along with A&B properties, the real estate arm of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. (NYSE: ALEX).

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Oahu tops global list of island destinations for best hotel occupancy

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Oahu tops global list of island destinations for best hotel occupancy

Staff Pacific Business News | Feb 25, 2013, 9:52am HST

Oahu ranked No. 1 among the world’s island and sun destinations last year for hotel occupancy, while Maui came in third, and Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii each made the top 10, according to a report by Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.

Hotels on Oahu had the highest occupancy rate among other global island destinations in 2012, according to a report by Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.

Hotels on Oahu had the highest occupancy rate among other global island destinations in 2012, according to a report by Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.

Hawaii as a whole was ranked third, behind comparable international destinations Singapore and South Korea, for occupancy rates in 2012, and second after Singapore in average daily room rate and revenue per available room, according to the report.

Among other island destinations, Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island ranked in the top 10 for all three categories in 2012 and appear to be headed for another strong year, said Joe Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC.

“Hawaii is having an exceptionally strong winter season thus far,” Toy said in a statement. Although concerns over the economy are starting to be heard, advanced hotel bookings continue to point to a very busy summer.”

Oahu hotels were 84.7 percent full in 2012, which was 4 percentage points higher, and nearly 12 percentage points higher than Puerto Rico, which was in the No. 2 spot with an occupancy rate of 72.9 percent, according to the report.

Maui’s occupancy rate for 2012 was 72.6 percent, ranking the island third, while Kauai was ranked No. 6 with a rate of 68.8 percent and the Big Island was 10th with a 62 percent occupancy rate. Other island destinations on the list were Phuket, Thailand; Bali, Indonesia; Aruba; the Maldives; and the Bahamas.

The four Hawaiian islands also ranked among the top 10 island destinations for average daily room rates and revenue per available room.
Maui was third highest among its global competitors for average daily room rates in 2012 at $257.95, a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year, after No. 1 Maldives, where the average daily room rate shot up 17.5 percent to $606.22 and hotels in French Polynesia, where the average daily room rate rose 8.2 percent to $329.38.

Kauai was No. 6 with an average daily room rate of $212.85, followed by the Big Island at No. 7 with $192.57 and Oahu at No. 8 with $174.37.

Maui also had the strongest RevPAR among Hawaii’s islands, and was ranked third among its global competitors with RevPAR of $182.27, an 8 percent increase from 2011.

Oahu was ranked fifth with RevPAR of $155.43, but that was a 16.8 percent increase from the year before, while RevPAR at seventh-ranked Kauai hotels rose 12.7 percent to $146.44. Big Island hotels were ranked ninth with RevPAR of $119.39, which was a 10.1 percent increase from last year.

Going once: Hualalai Resort estate to be sold at auction

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Going once: Hualalai Resort estate to be sold at auction

Janis L. Magin Managing Editor of Digital Content- Pacific Business News | Feb 22, 2013, 4:49pm HST

Three years ago, Wayne Lau was a bidder in the auction of a luxury home on Hawaii’s Big Island owned by the entertainer Cher.

Now he’s selling his own Hawaii property — a 10.056-square-foot custom home in the Hualalai Resort on the Big Island — in a March 18 auction co

"Hale Ku Mana" at the Hualalai Resort on Hawaii's Big Island will be sold at auction on March 18.

“Hale Ku Mana” at the Hualalai Resort on Hawaii’s Big Island will be sold at auction on March 18.

nducted by Concierge Auctions, the same firm that sold Cher’s house at Hualalai Resort for $8.7 million.

Lau’s 1.33-acre property, “Hale Ku Mana” or “House of Spiritual Healing,” will be sold in cooperation with Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, which is currently starring on its own show on cable’s HGTV.

The house was originally offered for $18.5 million. Forbes magazine included it in a feature last May about “homes with incredible showers and bathtubs.”
“It’s completely private, the landscaping is immaculate and each of the five bedrooms is a master suite, four of which have ocean views, which is rare,” Hawaii Life Realtor Beverly Molfino said in a statement, noting that the house is surrounded on three sides by the members-only Keolu Golf Course. “It truly is a one-of-a-kind home that requires an equally unique buyer on auction day.”

Lau has been following the auction firm’s activities since bidding on Cher’s house.

“Living in the Far East and Geneva, I am also familiar with how the finest pieces of art are sold through global auctions,” he said in a statement. “It seems natural to sell the finest of homes in the same way.”

The property also comes with rights to all the amenities of the nearby Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.

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Larry Ellison moving full speed on Lanai development projects

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Economic development on Larry Ellison’s island of Lanai continues to move full speed ahead with projects beginning as early as the end of this year and the addition of about 10 senior managers to Lanai Resorts LLC, which is headed up by Lanai-native Kurt Matsumoto.

On Wednesday, Ellison’s group held another community meeting that focused on the future of the Pineapple Island.

According to Butch Gima, a prominent Lanai community member and president of Lanaians for Sensible Growth, who attended…

Hawaii’s ‘Steven Tyler bill’ would shield celebrities from paparazzi

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Janie’s got a camera — but she had better not plan on taking pictures of rocker Steven Tyler frolicking in the Maui sun or through his bedroom window if a bill intended to protect celebrities from paparazzi passes the Hawaii Legislature.

I could go on with the Aerosmith lyrics while writing about Senate Bill 465 — which, if passed, would be called the “Steven Tyler Act” after the band’s frontman — proposed by state Sen. Kalani English of Maui, but I’ll spare everyone reading this.…

Larry Ellison’s Lanai rep holding meetings with community groups

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It’s been nearly two months since Kurt Matsumoto officially took over as the head of business operations on Lanai after billionaire Larry Ellison bought most of the island last year.

A source on the Pineapple Island told me that Matsumoto, a Lanai native, is holding a lot of small meetings with various groups on the island.

The source attended one of those meetings and said that there is one planned for Friday to address the Lanai Chamber of Commerce and their guests.

But first, there are important…

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg buying luxury Hawaii condos

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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apparently took some time out from having some fun in the sun with his wife over his holiday vacation in Hawaii to do a little real estate shopping in Honolulu.

The world’s youngest billionaire, chairman and CEO of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), is buying several multi-million-dollar units in a 23-story ultra-luxury condominium under development called ONE Ala Moana, according to a source.

The 206-unit project, which will be built atop the parking garage adjacent…