Kapiolani site
sells for $13M

Good things come to those who wait.

At least they did for Nevada-based businessman Thomas Sorensen, owner of Inspiration Furniture at Pearlridge Center and developer of the future Honolulu Design Center in Kakaako.

Sorensen capitalized on Oahu's booming commercial real estate market by selling a portion of the Kodak Building site on Kapiolani Boulevard to Public Storage for about $13 million, well over comparable land prices, said George Lacey, a junior associate with CB Richard Ellis, who brokered the deal.

"Pricing is being driven up by the lack of high-profile good-quality lots," he said.

The nearly two-acre vacant parcel is a corner lot bordered by Kamakee, Kapiolani and Waimanu streets, Lacey said.

Sorensen, who still has plans to build a design center on the Ewa end of the property, acquired the entire 3.4-acre parcel for between $13 million and $14 million, about one-third of what the previous owner paid, according to sources familiar with the deal. Japan-based Fukuoka Jisho paid $44.7 million in 1990.

Sorensen's deal, which closed July 7, fetched $150 a square foot in an area where land typically sells for about $100 a square foot, said Doug Pothul, senior associate with Marcus & Millichap.

"It's a sign that market conditions are prime," Pothul said.

The Kodak Building site, once the headquarters of Eastman Kodak Co.'s Hawaii operations, sits across from McKinley High School. The tract also includes a parcel makai of the building, located between Waimanu and Kawaiahao streets.

South Korean conglomerate Daewoo Corp. was originally going to partner with Fukuoka to build a 500-unit, 30-story condominium on the site in 1995. The idea was dropped a year later though, and Fukuoka put the property on the market for $30 million.

Public Storage, which operates self-storage facilities in Honolulu, Pearl City, Aiea, Kaneohe and Waipio, could not be reached for comment. The company manages over 800,000 self-service storage spaces in 80 U.S. cities.