Estate taps developer
for center in Waikiki
The Kamehameha Schools has selected a Los Angeles-based mall developer for its $55 million renovation of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki.
The $6 billion charitable trust said yesterday that The Festival Companies also will take over the property management of the 290,000-square-foot upscale retail center in July from the estate's Pauahi Management Co. unit.
"Festival's proposal showed great sensitivity and understanding of this historical and culturally important asset," said Susan Todani, Kamehameha Schools' director of investments. "We believe that Festival will assist (Kamehameha Schools) in its mission to appropriately steward this asset and restore the center to its former prominence in Waikiki."
The renovation is the first in the 24-year history of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, which many consider the jewel of Kamehameha Schools' real estate holdings.
According to the estate, Pauahi Management employs about 60 people at Royal Hawaiian and Windward Mall in Kaneohe, whose management will be turned over to General Growth Properties Inc. in June.
All 60 employees will be laid off, but the estate said it expects Festival and General Growth to retain many of the workers.
The renovation project comes amid an increase in Waikiki building activity as Hawaii's visitor market has rebounded. Last week, Outrigger Enterprises said it was teaming up with local developer and Campbell Estate Trustee Dick Gushman to develop and lease the retail portion of its $350 million Waikiki Beach Walk project.
The Royal Hawaiian, which fronts Kalakaua Avenue and is bordered by the Sheraton Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian Hotel, is redoing its tenant mix, which previously catered to the upscale Japanese visitors of the 1980s and 1990s boom years. In December, the Cheesecake Factory opened a 14,000 square-foot restaurant at the Waikiki center.
The Kamehameha Schools, the state's largest private landowner, is a nonprofit trust established by the will of Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The trust educates more than 5,700 children of Hawaiian ancestry at its Kapalama Heights and neighbor island campuses.
The Festival Companies is the developer of more than $1.5 billion of retail properties around the country. It recently completed the Buena Park Downtown near Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California .