Aloha Tower
upgrade considered

A new parking structure
and and an improved passenger terminal
are being discussed

By Jerry Tune
Star-Bulletin

AHI Aloha L.P., the new owner of the Aloha Tower Marketplace, is talking about spending $10 million to improve the passenger terminal at piers 10-11 and adding a parking structure to help the waterfront development.

"The talks are very preliminary at this point," said Ron Hirano, executive officer of the Aloha Tower Development Corp., the state agency that overseas the waterfront project.

In November, AHI Aloha L.P. -- a partnership of Trinity Investment LLC and Wall Street deal-maker Leon Black's Apollo Real Estate Advisers L.P. -- purchased the $60 million mortgage to the marketplace from Tokyo-based Mitsui Trust & Banking Co. for an undisclosed, discounted price.

AHI Aloha is also trying to acquire the rights to develop other lands surrounding the marketplace but this is wrapped up in the fight between Mitsui and the marketplace's developer Aloha Tower Associates.

ATA sued Mitsui in 1996, alleging the bank reneged on its agreement to finance more waterfront development. Mitsui, later that year, filed a foreclosure suit against ATA in 1996, alleging the developers did not make payments on its $60 million mortgage.

Circuit Court Judge Marie Milks has been overseeing mediation of the competing claims for the past month, Hirano said. However, ATA -- which had the original development rights -- did give Trinity the right to bring up the idea for a new parking structure and baggage improvements at piers 10-11, he said.

The idea might be discussed at the Aloha Tower board's meeting Feb. 6, he added.

Parking originally was planned for the piers 10-11 area along with an office building but that never was developed due to the glut of office space in Honolulu and the poor local economy.

Hirano said that AHI Aloha started talking about improvements after it settled its deal to buy the marketplace mortgage from Mitsui.