Ownership change for Waikiki’s former Niketown building

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Los Angeles-based developer Robertson Properties Group has purchased the remaining property of the four-story King Kalakaua Plaza building on the Ewa end of Waikiki that used to house such tenants as Niketown, Banana Republic and Official All Star Cafe for $10 million, according to public records.

Robertson Properties, which is owned by Decurion Corp. which also owns Pacific Theatres, ArcLight Cinemas and Hollybrook Senior Living, already owned a majority of the property.

Its latest purchase from Honolulu development and investment company Oceanfront Hawaii Inc., headed by Atsushi Takebayashi, includes a 6,711-square-foot parcel of land at the 2080 Kalakaua Ave. site.

That parcel has a total assessed value of about $3.1 million, according to tax records.

The building opened to much fanfare in 1998, but has remained vacant since its last remaining tenant, Niketown, closed in 2009, although the ground floor space is being utilized as a sales center for the nearby Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach condominium-hotel project.

The complex cost $45 million to build and was a joint venture between Honolulu’s the Honu Group and Lehman Brothers, which financed the project.

Lehman foreclosed on the project in 2006 and sought $79 million in principal, interest and penalties, though Lehman was also the majority owner of the project.

In 2010, Robertson Properties, the landowner, took control of the building and owned a majority of the property up until this recent acquisition from Oceanfront Hawaii.

The Los Angeles developer also has plans to redevelop the site of the former Kamehameha Drive-In across from Pearlridge shopping center in Aiea in Central Oahu into a mixed-use project.

PBN has reached out to Robertson Properties for comment.

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

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

Honolulu plans major deployment of free Wi-Fi in Waikiki

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waikikitrolleysurfboards-600xx572-381-14-0Honolulu is planning a major deployment of free Wi-Fi in Waikiki this year as part of a larger effort to expand this type of service throughout Oahu, the head of the City and County of Honolulu’s information technology department told PBN.

For several years, the department has already been partnering with carriers to provide free Wi-Fi in dozens of locations on Oahu.

Mark Wong, director and chief information officer of the city’s Department of Information Technology, told PBN that engineering work is currently being done for this major project in Waikiki, with plans to begin delivering service sometime this year.

“We are expanding fee Wi-Fi in the city,” he said. “We have a franchise agreement with Oceanic [Time Warner Cable] to deploy free Wi-Fi in areas across Oahu in heavily populated areas or areas that the public uses a lot.”

Wong noted that these targeted areas currently do not have free Wi-Fi access.

The entire project, which includes the state’s tourism mecca, is expected to cost just under $1,000 per month.

“We’re doing it this year and we’re doing it area by area,” he said. “The goal is to make Honolulu a showcase of what can be done.”

Last week, PBN first reported that Honolulu also is planning to install a $2 million high-speed Internet project along its planned 20-mile elevated rail transit system line that will run from West Oahu to Ala Moana Center.

The project, which involves installing 1,000 pairs of fiber to provide broadband access to the areas near the 21 rail stations, is expected to begin installation this year.

Read more about broadband technology in Friday’s print edition of Pacific Business News.

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Oahu home sales, prices rise in July

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Aug 7, 2013, 5:58am HST Updated: Aug 7, 2013, 7:27am HST
Duane Shimogawa  |  Reporter- Pacific Business News

The Oahu housing market remained positive in July, especially with it came to the number of sales for both single-family homes and condominiums, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The median price of a condominium on Oahu in July rose 8 percent year-over-year to $345,500, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The median price of a condominium on Oahu in July rose 8 percent year-over-year to $345,500, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

There were 290 home sales last month, a 9 percent increase from 265 sales in July 2012. The median sale price of a home last month was $647,500, which was 2 percent higher than the median price of $635,000 during the same time period last year.

Condo sales soared 17 percent last month to 426 sales, compared to 364 sales in July 2012.

The median sales price of a condo in July was $345,500, an increase of 8 percent from $320,000 in July 2012.

“Realtors are reporting that properties are selling quickly, making it more important than ever for buyers to be prepared by being pre-qualified for a loan, so when they are ready to make a purchase — they can act fast,” Honolulu Board of Realtors President Kevin Miyama said in a statement. “With the median sales prices rising compared to this time last year, especially for condominiums, on-the-fence sellers should consider listing their properties now to take advantage of the shortage of inventory on the market.”

Single-family homes were on the market for an average of 17 days and condos for 20 days, according to the days on market indicator.

While the market remains hot, it wasn’t as active and prolific as in June, when the Oahu housing market hit a new high with the highest median sales price — $677,250 — for single-family homes in more than five years.

Units in Ritz-Carlton Waikiki project priced from ‘$500,000s to over $15M’

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Units in Ritz-Carlton Waikiki project priced from ‘$500,000s to over $15M’

Janis L. Magin, Managing Editor of Digital Content- Pacific Business News  |  Mar 20, 2013, 4:45pm HST

This updated rendering shows some of the design revisions developer Pacrep LLC has made to the 2121 Kuhio condominium hotel project, which is being marketed as The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach. Courtesy Pacrep LLC

This updated rendering shows some of the design revisions developer Pacrep LLC has made to the 2121 Kuhio condominium hotel project, which is being marketed as The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach.
Courtesy Pacrep LLC

Some units in a proposed 37-story Waikiki condominium hotel tower that will be branded under The Ritz-Carlton Residences flag will go on the market this spring for more than $15 million, one of the highest asking prices ever for a new condominium unit in Hawaii.

The website for The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, says prices for the units, which range from a 401-square-foot studio on one of the lower floors to a 1,790-square-foot three-bedroom, three-bath unit on one of the top floors to a top-floor penthouse, start “from the $500,000s to over $15 million.”

In comparison, the penthouse units at the ultra-luxury One Ala Moana condo being developed atop the parking garage next to the Nordstrom department store behind Ala Moana Center by a partnership that includes the Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC) are being marketed for around $9 million.

That building has drawn interest from some Mainland billionaires, including Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB).

The sales office for the Ritz-Carlton project will open in mid-April in the Luxury Row retail complex on Kalakaua Avenue adjacent to the project’s site, which is also home to luxury retailers Tiffany & Co., Chanel, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Coach, Tod’s, Bottega Veneta and Hugo Boss.

California-based Pacrep LLC, which is developing the Ritz-Carlton project that’s also known as 2121 Kuhio, expects to start construction on the building later this year, with a completion targeted for late 2015 or early 2016, Jason Grosfeld, principal of Pacrep LLC, told PBN.

Pacrep recently secured approval for a Waikiki Special District permit, although the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting attached conditions to the approval, including design revisions.

The developer’s current design already incorporates many of the revisions requested by the city, including an articulation to the building’s facade, Grosfeld said. Grosfeld is also a principal in Irongate, which developed the Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki Beach Walk and the Watermark Waikiki.

“We’ve already been addressing and satisfying some of these comments,” he said.

Grosfeld said Pacrep will apply for building permits once the design is completed.

Grosfeld is confident there will be strong demand for the units.

“We’ve had thousands of people contact us to get more information about the project,” he said. “We have hundreds of people who want to buy right now.”
 

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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.


Hotels celebrities love visiting

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Halekulani Honolulu, Hawaii

Halekulani
Honolulu, Hawaii

For most of us, a hotel with lavish décor, superlative amenities, and excellent service has the trappings of a luxurious getaway. But for superstars rolling off the red carpet, only the crème-de-la-crème of the lodging industry will do.

After all, Hollywood’s elite endures countless hours in the spotlight, and they crave nothing more than some peace and quiet. They’re looking for a place to stay where they can go unnoticed as they stretch along powdery sands, glide down pristine slopes, and canoodle over romantic dinners.

And while well-heeled A-listers have their pick of top properties across the globe, it comes as no surprise to us that they’re stealing away to some of these palatial retreats. Regardless of whether you’re an adored Hollywood celeb or a discerning globe-trotter, as soon as you walk through the doors of these extravagant digs, we have no doubt that you’ll feel like royalty.

Halekulani                                   
Honolulu, Hawaii
Situated along the powdery sands of Waikiki Beach, Halekulani offers its A-list guests (including Cameron Diaz and Halle Barry) prime ocean views and luxurious extras, such as private butler service and en-suite spa treatments. Halekulani’s 2,365-square-foot Orchid Suite boasts floor-to-ceiling doors that extend out to an airy lounge with all-around views of Diamond Head and Waikiki.  But that’s not to stay the other custom-designed rooms, like the Vera Wang-designed Halekulani Suite, aren’t worth checking out. And with alluring extras, like complimentary champagne and couples spa treatments, there are plenty of indulgent features to entice you to splurge on premier accommodations.

travel.yahoo.com/ideas/hotels-celebrities-love-visiting-212430668.html

 

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UPDATED LISTS – Bank Owned, REO and HomePath Properties 10/24/2011

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Welcome to our updated lists of Oahu and Honolulu Bank Owned Properties for August 24th, 2011

Click Here for Bank Owned Condos Fee Simple – Oahu
http://realestate.hawaiiamericana.com/i/6351/REO_Condos

Click Here for Bank Owned Condos Leasehold – Oahu
http://realestate.hawaiiamericana.com/i/6351/REO_Condo_Leasehold

Click Here for Bank Owned Single Family Homes – Oahu
http://realestate.hawaiiamericana.com/i/6351/REO_SFR

 

3% DOWN PAYMENT AVAILABLE ON THESE PROPERTIES
 Click Here for Government HomePath Properties
http://realestate.hawaiiamericana.com/i/6351/HomePath_Fannie_Mae_REO

 

"Don't forget about our special Buyer Rebate Program that we offer – which is 30% of our commission is paid back to you the Buyer, as a rebate – in other words if you purchase a property for $500,000 you would receive $4,500.00 back to use for your closing costs, new carpet or paint, furniture or anything you like even cash if your lender approves"

Search REO and Bank Owned CONDOS  |  Search REO and Bank Owned Homes

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Hawaiian Americana Realty, Inc | Mark Howard – Owner/ Broker/Founder – RB 20384
1888 Kalakaua Ave., C312
Honolulu, HI 96815
Phone 808-791-2923