Investor trying to flip Oahu offices

Arroyo Realty aims to sell an Aiea building it just bought for $21 million

Just a few weeks after making its fourth Hawaii acquisition, Arroyo Realty Partners of Los Angeles has put its Honolulu properties back on the market in an attempt to flip them.

BACK UP FOR SALE Hawaii Agricultural Research Center: 75,814 square feet Airport Center: 110,983 square feet Ocean View Court: 186,430 square feet Total: 373,227 square feet

Arroyo's $20.6 million acquisition of the 75,814-square-foot Robert L. Cushing Building in Aiea Heights closed on Oct. 5. The building is now being marketed by a mainland investment firm, Buchanan Street Partners, as part of a package along with the Airport Center and Ocean View Court, which includes the Ocean View Center and Haseko Center in downtown Honolulu.

The properties are being listed with no asking price.

Arroyo Realty acquired Airport Center in Honolulu in late 2004, and the Ocean View Center and Haseko Center for $25.5 million last year from Alexander & Baldwin. Together, the three properties measure close to 375,000 square feet, with occupancies ranging between 88 percent and 99 percent. The Cushing Building -- better know as the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center -- has the highest value, with an estimated replacement cost of $600 per square foot.

Buchanan Street Partners, of Newport Beach, Calif., is marketing the properties as attractive investments, with Oahu's office vacancy rate below 7 percent.

Tim Brosnan, vice president of Buchanan Street Partners, said the firm is marketing the properties on the mainland and in Hawaii, and he's confident there will be some strong offers by mid-December.

"These are good, solid properties that have the ability to take advantage of coming rental rate increases," he said. "There are some interested parties that are local, but most of the interest is from people who don't currently have a presence in Hawaii."