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Oahu Club sold to The leasehold Oahu Club, a sports club on Hawaii Kai Drive, has been sold by its bankrupt Japan-based owner to a local unit of Nagoya construction firm Mugishima Co.
Mugishima Co. unit
The Japanese owner of the club
in Hawaii Kai declared bankruptcy
after heavy investmentsBy Tim Ruel
truel@starbulletin.comLife Port Hawaii Co. bought the Oahu Club last year from former owner Mainichi Sports USA Hawaii Inc., according to Honolulu attorney Elton S. Kagimoto, who is a representative for Life Port Hawaii. A lease with landowner Kamehameha Schools was recorded publicly last week, records show. The purchase price for the club was not disclosed.
The 134-member Oahu Club was built in 1965 on 7.6 acres, and Mainichi Sports assumed the lease for $2.45 million in 1988, near the height of the Japanese bubble, property records show. Mainichi opened two more sports clubs in Japan using the name Oahu Club, one in Tokyo and one in Tsunashima.
But club memberships fell victim to Japan's economic stagnation, as businesses cut back on expenses, and Mainichi's parent went bankrupt in Japan in early 2001, Kagimoto said.
"They stretched themselves out during the bubble," he said.
The Oahu Club in Tokyo has closed while Oahu Club Tsunashima remains open and is now owned by Life Port Hawaii's Japanese parent, Kagimoto said. The Oahu Club in Hawaii Kai was the only Hawaii holding of Mainichi Sports.
The Oahu Club closed in February so the new owner could start work on more than $300,000 in renovations, including resurfacing the tennis courts. Life Port Hawaii is still rebuilding the club's six-lane Olympic-size pool, and a firm date for re-opening has not yet been set.
Other amenities include a volleyball court, diving pool, weight room and archery range, according to Kagimoto.