Outrigger’s planned 200-room hotel tower may start construction in early 2018

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Outrigger’s planned 200-room hotel tower may start construction in early 2018

Outrigger’s planned 200-room hotel tower may start construction in early 2018

Outrigger Enterprises Group plans to begin its phased redevelopment of its Outrigger Reef on the Beach, which will add a 200-room hotel tower to the Waikiki hotel by the end of 2017 or early 2018 — about a year later than it expected — a company executive confirmed to PBN Friday.

The Hawaii-based hotel company, which has strong roots in the state through the Kelley family, has been watching the rejuvenation of Waikiki with great interest.

“We recently concluded our renovation of our Embassy Suites, our Ala Moana Hotel, and did a fair amount of work at the Best Western at the Honolulu airport,” Barry Wallace, executive vice president of hospitality services for Outrigger, told PBN. “We also have renovations planned for our Holiday Inn and Outrigger Reef hotels.”

The Outrigger Reef project, which was announced in April 2014 as a $100 million redevelopment, includes a new hotel tower that will be set back from the beach along Kalia Road.

“We’re already a year or two behind on that and are breaking [the construction] up in pieces, two phases,” Wallace said. “Each phase should take between 12 and 24 months.”

The project also includes significantly enhancing the amenities of the resort.

“Plans are presently being refined and we’re talking to contractors,” Wallace said. “The rooms will be oceanfront even though they will be across from the ocean. This would be the first new hotel rooms delivered in a long time. It’s about 200 net new rooms.”

Outrigger’s last major redevelopment project in Waikiki was the $535 million Waikiki Beach Walk project that opened in late 2006 and revamped the block along Lewers Street with several dozen retail shops and restaurants, and a 21-story Embassy Suites Hotel.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Ritz-Carlton’s first Waikiki tower to open to first guests in April

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ritz_003California developer Irongate’s The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach condominium-hotel project’s first tower is scheduled to open for its first guests in late April, its general manager told PBN.

The 324-unit, 37-story first tower, known as the “West” tower, also is expected to have one of its restaurants open in April, with its second eatery — Hawaii’s first Dean & DeLuca — and its spa opening in July.

Douglas Chang, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, told PBN on Friday that its 246-unit, 37-story second tower, or “East” tower, which began construction in February, is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.

Both projects have created more than 600 construction jobs.

Located at 2121 Kuhio Ave., adjacent to the Luxury Row of retailers at 2100 Kalakaua that include Chanel and Gucci, the project will include Dean & DeLuca, Sushi Sho, BLT Market, BLT Bar & Grill and likely an ABC Stores Island Country Markets.

This project is the first Ritz-Carlton Residences-branded property on Oahu. There are Ritz-Carlton-branded properties on both Maui and the Big Island.

Lance Wilhelm, managing principal of Irongate’s Hawaii operation, previously told PBN that he is looking forward to finding more redevelopment projects not only in Waikiki but elsewhere in Hawaii.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Waikiki condo-hotel being planned for former Kyo-ya Restaurant site

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The Japanese firm that purchased the site of the former Kyo-ya Restaurant is in the early

The Japanese firm that purchased the site of the former Kyo-ya Restaurant is in the early

The Japanese firm that purchased the former property of the iconic Kyo-ya Restaurant in Waikiki is planning to develop a condominium-hotel project on that Kalakaua Avenue site, the project’s consultant confirmed to PBN.

Hawaii-based Best Hospitality LLC, whose parent is Tokyo-based Tsukada Global Holdings, is currently developing conceptual plans for this property at 2055-2057 Kalakaua Ave.

“The 25,000-square-foot building on the property has been vacant since the restaurant, serving Japanese cuisine and with its elegant garden setting and catering operations, closed in 2007 after being open for nearly 50 years,” Keith Kurahashi, president of the Honolulu-based planning and zoning consultant firm Kusao & Kurahashi Inc., told PBN on behalf of the new owner.

Kurahashi is scheduled to present plans for the “One Waikiki Project, a condo-hotel at 2055-2057 Kalakaua Avenue” at the Sept. 8 Waikiki Neighborhood Board meeting.

Hawaii developer Kevin Showe and a group of investors sold the property to Best Hospitality for $30.5 million, as first reported by PBN.

The property is zoned for resort/mixed-use and could be turned into a hotel, time share, condominium or a restaurant.

Tsukada Global Holdings, which consists of companies in the wedding, hotel, restaurant, wellness and relaxation businesses, owns Best Bridal Hawaii Inc., an upscale wedding chapel owner.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

Proposed 350-foot condo tower in Waikiki met with major opposition

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A Japanese firm’s 350-foot mixed-use condominium-hotel tower being planned for the former property of the Kyo-ya Restaurant in Waikiki was met with strong opposition by some community members and the area’s neighborhood board.

Keith Kurahashi, president of the Honolulu-based planning and zoning consulting firm Kusao & Kurahashi Inc. presented plans for the 176-unit “One Waikiki” project to the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, which opposed the project because of height limit concerns.

The property’s current height limit is 25 feet, but the new owners of the property, Best Hospitality LLC, whose parent is Tokyo-based Tsukada Global Holdings, hope to raise the height limit to 350 feet.

Honolulu-based architecture firm WATG is part of the project and provided renderings for the condo-hotel, which would be located on two parcels of land encompassing about 28,000-square-feet at the edge of Fort DeRussy on Kalakaua Avenue.

Kurahashi said the developer will need to ask for a height limit increase, as well as do a draft environmental assessment and file a Waikiki Special District application.

He contended that the current height limit for the property, which was home to the Kyo-ya Restaurant for 50 years, no longer applies.

As part of the development, the Kyo-ya Restaurant, which closed in 2007, will be demolished.

The condo-hotel, which will include a pool deck, jacuzzi, fitness center, spa, an owner’s lounge, kitchen and restaurant, cafe, a wedding chapel, a bride room, a reflection pool, bridal gardens, four penthouse units and two large gardens, will have a common theme of large lanais and balconies.

There will be a total of 51 parking stalls for the project.

In terms of its economic benefits, Kurahashi noted that it would create many construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs, as well as millions in taxes to the city and state.

He also said that the project would add much needed room capacity to the state’s tourism mecca, especially since a total of 2,684 hotel units have been lost in Waikiki since 2003.

But several board members voiced their concerns about the proposed height limit increase of the project, going as far as passing a resolution to oppose the project’s height increase.

Hawaii developer Kevin Showe and a group of investors sold the property to Best Hospitality for $30.5 million, as first reported by PBN.

The property is zoned for resort/mixed-use and could be turned into a hotel, time share, condominium or a restaurant.

PBN also first reported about the developer’s plans to turn to build a condo-hotel.

Tsukada Global Holdings, which consists of companies in the wedding, hotel, restaurant, wellness and relaxation businesses, owns Best Bridal Hawaii Inc., an upscale wedding chapel owner.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

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

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

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

$34M Waikiki Landing project secures funding from Mainland firm

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The rendering shows the Waikiki Landing project, with Diamond Head in the background.The rendering shows the Waikiki Landing project, with Diamond Head in the background.

The rendering shows the Waikiki Landing project, with Diamond Head in the background.The rendering shows the Waikiki Landing project, with Diamond Head in the background.

A Mainland investment group is putting up almost the entire development cost of $34 million for the long-planned Waikiki Landing mixed-use project at Hawaii’s Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor, the attorney for the developer confirmed to PBN.

“We have somebody who is going to finance almost the entire amount,” Keith Kiuchi, the attorney for developer Japan-based Honey Bee USA, told PBN on Wednesday. “They’re asking for an equity interest [of about 50 percent].”

Kiuchi declined to disclose the name of the investment group, only to say that while it has not done any projects in Hawaii, it just recently funded an $81 million project on the Mainland.

“These guys are willing to put in, what they’re calling is a loan,” Kiuchi said.

The project, which includes wedding chapels, restaurants, retail and office space and a boat-repair facility and fuel dock, also is close to getting a sewer permit.

Next month, Kiuchi plans to unveil details regarding the new investor, to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which owns the land, at the state agency’s regularly scheduled meeting.

No new timeline for construction has been set yet for the project, which will be located next to Honolulu’s Hawaii Prince Hotel.

Duane Shimogawa
Pacific Business News

New hotel tower planned for Waikiki

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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

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