Historic Manoa property attracting wide attention
Potential buyers from abroad are checking out Manoa Valley Inn
Since the historic Manoa Valley Inn was listed last month real estate buyers and private businesses and nonprofits from Singapore to California and the Neighbor Islands have been inquiring about the circa-1912 property.
The three-story Victorian structure, which has been listed for $3.7 million, features eight bedrooms and six bathrooms on a half-acre lot. It boasts a spacious veranda, a pool and views of the Honolulu skyline and Diamond Head, but its most valuable commodity is most likely its transferable legal bed & breakfast license.
"It's a really unique property and it's attracting a lot of interest," said listing agent Robyn A. Schaefer of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties. "We had to search properties across the islands to get the comps."
Although the 4,424-square-foot property is listed as a residential sale, it has operated as a bed and breakfast since the late 1990s, Schaefer said.
"This property is running at about 100 percent occupancy, and it has brand equity with clients that have been coming year after year," she said. "That's a huge selling point."
While the property is being scouted by prospective B&B operators, it offers other options, Schaefer said. It also could be used as a special event venue, a private residence, a boarding house, community center or health and wellness facility, she said.
Historically known as the Guild house, the property has been owned by several prominent Honolulu families. The home's present form, which is protected by the National Register of Historic Places, has been attributed to John Guild, secretary of Alexander & Baldwin.
Benjamin Dillingham, founder of the Oahu Railway & Land Co. and Richard Bickerton, Supreme Court Justice and Privy Council member under Queen Liliuokalani, are also among the property's former owners.