Dateline

Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center to be redone

              Kamehameha Schools expects to begin a much-awaited remodeling of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki . The $55 million overhaul is scheduled to begin in January and to be completed in December 2005.

              The renovation would be the first significant upgrade for the 23-year-old center that is profitable but has struggled in recent years and has long been criticized for its concrete fortress look. The shopping center is Kamehameha Schools’ single most important real estate asset in terms of value, revenue and cultural history. It spans more than three central blocks along Kalakaua Avenue .

              The repositioning of Waikiki ’s largest retail complex also will play a big role in revitalization of the state’s primary tourism area.  Kamehameha Schools, which first confirmed conceptual renovation plans in August 2001, had previously estimated project costs at $30 million to $60 million, and a year ago said it was beginning to search for a developer.

              The $5.5 billion nonprofit trust with a mission to educate children of Hawaiian ancestry said the center’s repositioning will involve a management change, many new tenants, more entertainment, and better integration with the neighboring Royal Hawaiian and Sheraton Waikiki hotels.

              The trust hopes the new tenants, which began with The Cheesecake Factory opening in December, will attract more Hawai’i residents to the center.

              The primary focal point of the remodeling will be the central performance area with the waterfall at the intersection of Seaside Avenue .             The area, once known as the King’s Grove at Helumoa because it was a home of King Kamehameha I with thousands of coconut trees, is envisioned to become a grove-like setting again with a cluster of coconut palms.

              Making way for the renamed Royal Grove, which was also the residence of Kamehameha’s great-granddaughter and Kamehameha Schools benefactor Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, will be the removal of three thick concrete bridges that connect the middle and diamondhead wings of the four-story center.

              The bridges almost completely block the view of the pink Royal Hawaiian hotel and a banyan tree, which should become visible from the street after replacing the bridges with a single, less-dense bridge that branches at each end to serve the second and third floors.

“That’s cool,” said Sidney Abraham, when told of the remodeling plan. The Makiki resident, who was at Waikiki Beach yesterday with his 10-month-old son, Skanner, said he goes into Waikiki about twice a month to go to the beach, often passing through the center.

Shizuka Chase, an office worker in the Waikiki Business Plaza across from the mall, also said she thinks the remodeling plan is a good idea. But she questions whether more kama’aina will venture into Waikiki because of little affordable or free parking.

Todani said the Cheesecake Factory has proved it can draw residents into Waikiki , and believes that other nationally recognized tenants mixed with strong local retailers and restaurants can bring in more.

              The 800-seat Aloha Showroom also has been unused since May 1999 when the Vegas-style “Legends in Concert” show featuring performances by celebrity impersonators went out of business.

              Local real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander in December was selected to handle mall leasing. Management, which is handled in-house through subsidiary Pauahi Management Corp., will be outsourced later this year.

              Another focal point of the renovation will be opening up the center’s diamondhead end to the Royal Hawaiian hotel courtyard. On the makai side of the center’s ‘ewa end facing the Sheraton Waikiki, a mall entrance will be made where former retailer McInerny once had a store opening.

              Additional design aspects are to include a “softening” of the center’s rough bunker-like appearance, increasing landscaping along Kalakaua, and adding more local touches similar to the kapa patterns adorning the Cheesecake Factory facade.

              Architects working on the project are Honolulu-based Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo and Callison Architecture, a retail design firm in Seattle that worked on the expansion of Ala Moana Center .

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/12/bz/bz02a.html

Waikiki Hotel Sells Units For Condo Status

              A 13-story Waikiki hotel is putting all 97 units up for sale. The Bamboo Hotel is located at 2425 Kuhio Avenue . The fee-simple units include studios that start at $107,000 and one-bedroom units that start at $184,000. There's also a two-bedroom penthouse with an ocean view that will list for $650,000.

              The hotel was built in the 60s. It's the latest hotel to convert to condominium status.

"We welcome everyone to come to Bamboo, take a look at the product and if they enjoy it, and like it, and they want to participate, they're able to actually sign a contract starting on Apr. 17," said Jonathan McManus of Bay West.

Some Waikiki residents

oppose Kuhio street changes

             WAIKIKI, March 8 -- Improvements now underway to Kuhio Avenue, which include taking out middle turn lanes, widening sidewalks and installing medians, are angering some Waikiki residents and business owners, who say the changes will make traffic worse.      

              Modifications to the avenue will make way for the city's Bus Rapid Transit project and are also part of a push to beautify the Waikiki thoroughfare, city Managing Director Ben Lee said. Crews began working on the road late last month and are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

              Once the $19 million project is complete, Kuhio Avenue will have landscaped medians between Kalakaua and Kapahulu avenues, wider sidewalks and ornamental traffic signals and lights.

              Opponents to the project said they did not know of the changes and that the changes would make changes worse.  The city said the changes were made public a year ago, and that pedestrian concerns were more important to Waikiki than traffic.   In addition to the Kuhio Avenue improvements, work to widen sidewalks and install planters on Ala Wai is expected to begin this summer. http://starbulletin.com/2004/03/08/news/index2.html

Waikiki 'condotel' planned

              WAIKIKI , Mar. 4, 2004 -- The owner of the former Waikiki Parkside hotel closed by mold more than a year ago is planning to sell the property as a condo with a hotel rental pool. Completion of extensive repair and remodeling is expected in July.  

              The 260-room hotel at 1850 Ala Moana across from Kalia Tower has been closed since February 2003 after management firm Aston Hotels & Resorts refused to continue operations out of concern for guests and workers.

              LaeRoc Partners, the Parkside's California-based owner, is working with Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties on the sale effort, and has an agreement in principal for Aqua Hotels & Resorts to manage units for buyers who elect to put their units into a hotel rental program.

              Coldwell and Aqua officials confirmed plans for the property, though an executive with LaeRoc, which is embroiled in lawsuits with Aston and the Parkside's former owner, declined comment.

              The repositioning of the Parkside is one of several recent conversions of typically low- to mid-grade Waikiki hotels into so-called "condotels" by owners finding they can sell units individually for up to twice as much as hotel operators are generally willing to pay.

              Condotel brokers and managers say buyers are mainly local and Mainland investors, most of whom rent out the units through a hotel rental program. Others use units for long-term rentals, and some keep units for personal use.

              Properties being converted for condotel sales include the former Ohana Ala Wai Towers now operating as the Aqua Marina, part of the Hawaiian Monarch Hotel, part of Kuhio Village and the Bamboo Hotel.

              At the former 242-room Waikiki Terrace hotel being converted into a 217-room condotel with an $11 million renovation, sales were in escrow for all units in about a month without any major advertising, according to Kevin Showe, vice president of National Housing Corp. of Hawaii Inc., a partner in the conversion.

              Showe said the average sales price is about $155,000 for studios, and $310,000 for one-bedroom units. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/04/bz/bz01a.html

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