Waikiki lot sells
for $6.8 million
It is part of an area between
By Russ Lynch
the tourist district's main strip and
the convention center
Star-BulletinA company registered in the Bahamas has agreed to buy a 22,700-square-foot, fee-simple property in Waikiki for $6.8 million, said the commissioner in the court-ordered sale. G.A. "Red" Morris said the property, on the mauka side of Kalakaua Avenue between Kuamoo Street and Keoniana Street, was the subject of a foreclosure action by Central Pacific Bank, which was owed $6.5 million. The Japanese owner also owed $1,500 a day in interest since March 27.
Morris said he knows the buyer only by name, Pristine Hawaii Inc.
But the company is represented by Hawaiian Trust Co. and has the money to conclude the deal, he said.
The property is two adjacent parcels now containing a vehicle rental operation and a convenience store, at the entrance to Kuhio Avenue.
The bank had sued the owners, Honey World Co., formerly known as Daio U.S.A. Corp., for delinquency on mortgage loans.
State conveyance records show Daio bought it in 1988 for $11.3 million from a company called T.G. Exchange Inc., formerly called Echo USA Inc. Echo bought it for $9 million earlier in 1988 from Honolulu businessman James S. Romig.
Morris said the sale price of $295 a square foot was a positive sign in what has been a depressed market.
In 1987, before the peak of the Japanese "bubble" buying, the property had changed hands for $4 million, according to state records.
The sale to Pristine Hawaii is subject to a Circuit Court confirmation hearing, yet to be scheduled.
If someone else comes in then with an offer of at least 5 percent over the agreed price, there could be a bidding process, Morris said.
Investors have become more interested in the area recently because it is a link between the main strip of Waikiki and the Hawaii Convention Center, nearing completion at Kalakaua and Kapiolani Boulevard.
The King Kalakaua Plaza, a three-story retailing complex that will include a Nike Town store and other nationally known retailers, will be completed later this year two blocks diamondhead of the site.
In May, Hawaii apparel maker Local Motion Inc. bought a 19,000-square foot lot two blocks closer to the convention center on the same side of Kalakaua as the Pristine Hawaii lot, for about $4 million, or $210 a square foot.
In January, Food Pantry Ltd. bought a 35,000-square-foot lot next to King Kalakaua Plaza for $13 million, or $371 a square foot.
Ups and downs
The lot at the intersection of Kalakaua and Kuhio has changed hands several times in the last decade.
September 1987: James S. Romig buys the property for $4 million from A.P.L. Corp.
