Kawamoto’s home giveaway unfinished

First of two parts

STORY SUMMARY »

More than a year since Japanese billionaire Gensiro Kawamoto offered the media a tour of the five Kahala homes he planned to offer rent-free to native Hawaiian families, the promise has gone unfulfilled.

Kawamoto's "Kahala Avenue Mission" remains incomplete.

The five homes set aside for the families, meanwhile, remain empty and are deteriorating, according to neighbors.

Kawamoto told the Star-Bulletin he was beset by a federal investigation into discriminatory practices under the Fair Housing Act for offering three families homes last spring.

The complaint was filed in March, and closed in November after several months of investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The investigation had no bearing, according to HUD, because there was no real estate transaction when Kawamoto offered his homes rent-free.

Some Kahala residents continue to air complaints about Kawamoto's neglected homes at the neighborhood board meetings, saying they are violating the neighborhood's covenants. But none, so far, have taken legal action.

Kawamoto told the Star-Bulletin he still intends to complete his mission, but declined to elaborate when that would be exactly.

Meanwhile, he's been tending to the former Hemmeter estate, one of his favorite homes in Kahala, which he hopes to transform into a beautiful garden museum.

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FULL STORY »

More than a year ago, in May, Japanese billionaire Gensiro Kawamoto gave the media a tour of five homes along Kahala Avenue he planned to offer for free to native Hawaiian families last summer.

On the home front UNOCCUPIED A look at the five homes Kawamoto said he'd offer in his "Kahala Avenue Mission." » 4286: Small cottage built in 1931 sits on a third of an acre. 13,803 square feet. Three bedrooms/one bath. Acquired for $1.6 million in 2004. » 4332: Four-bedroom home, five baths on a third of an acre. Acquired for $3.4 million in July 2005. » 4432: Modest four-bedroom/ one bath home on more than a third of an acre. Acquired for $1.68 million in July 2004. » 4806AB: Side-by-side, two-story homes on half an acre, offering five bedrooms, five full baths, two half baths each, with a tennis court in back. Acquired for $2.77 million in November 2004. OCCUPIED The homes he did give to families: » 4398: Colonial-style home with four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, pool filled in. Acquired for $2.88 million in April 2005. Occupied by the Kahale family. >> 4578: Historical Tudor-style house with three bedrooms, two baths built in 1935. Pool filled in. Acquired for $2.1 million in January 2005. Occupied by the Worley family. » 4337: Gingerbread-style house with five bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, originally built in 1930. Pool filled in. Acquired for $2 million in April 2005. Occupied by the Gusman family. Sources: Honolulu Property Tax records Star-Bulletin Research

Among the homes were: 4286 Kahala Ave., 4332 Kahala Ave., 4432 Kahala Ave., and 4806A and 4806B Kahala Ave., side-by-side homes with a tennis court in back.

But to this day, the homes sit empty and dilapidated, with no families occupying them. Kawamoto's Kahala Avenue Mission -- a year later -- remains incomplete.

Kawamoto told the Star-Bulletin that he was set back by a federal investigation into discriminatory housing practices involving his Kahala Avenue Mission just as he was about to fill those homes.

"I still do not understand the reason why I have received such an allegation," Kawamoto said in written response to Star-Bulletin inquiries last month.

A formal complaint was filed in March 2007, according to Jelani M. Madaraka, a staff member of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development in Honolulu's field office.

Madaraka said the complaint was filed by an individual that felt he or she was not selected to live in one of Kawamoto's homes due to race or national origin.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits advertising or making any statement indicating a limit or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap.

The investigation was closed, however, in November of last year because HUD found it did not have a case.

"We didn't have jurisdiction over the matter because there was no real estate transaction," said Madaraka. "He didn't charge any rent. It was just considered a gift."

In March 2007, Kawamoto surprised three families by telling them they could live in his Kahala Avenue homes, rent-free, and gave them an additional $1,000 in cash as well as furnishings.

Kawamoto had publicly said, while inviting the media on a tour, that he sought native Hawaiian families to live in the homes.

He was planning to offer a total of eight mauka-side homes on Kahala Avenue in all.

The three families, to date, still occupy the homes he offered them in March. In previous interviews with the Star-Bulletin, they called Kawamoto a "fairy godfather."

Kawamoto said though his attorney warned him there might be similar complaints filed in the future, he still plans to carry out his mission.

"I strongly believe in my policy regarding this charity and that it is the right thing to do," Kawamoto said in a written response. "I hope to find a way to resolve this problem to begin again."

But he did not elaborate on how, or when, he would continue his mission.

King of Kahala

Kawamoto could very well be nicknamed the king of Kahala. Over the last six years, he's acquired some 20 properties along Kahala Avenue for between $2 million to $20 million apiece.

As early as the fall of 2006, Kawamoto had announced plans to set aside some of those Kahala homes for native Hawaiian families for as low as $150 per month in rent.

He dubbed it his "Kahala Avenue Mission."

Kawamoto and his team of interpreters fielded thousands of letters, then personally interviewed and selected the three families now living in his homes. Part of his research included going to the current homes of the families -- some of whom lived in transitional homeless shelters.

He said he was looking forward to seeing how the three families are doing in another year or so, and to see how their children have grown.

Among one of Kawamoto's most-significant purchases was the former Hemmeter estate, which he bought for $13 million in cash in 2005, in addition to the parcel next door.

Kawamoto said the estate was one of his favorites, and that he plans to renovate the property into "one of the most beautiful garden museums."

The Japanese tycoon, who is in his late 70s, said he sees Hawaii as a place for him to release some creativity -- an escape from his commercial business dealings in Tokyo.

But the five homes he showcased on a media tour in May -- which were to go to additional Hawaiian families -- have since remained empty. The walls fronting them have been knocked down, and the pools have been filled with gravel and sand.

They sit vacant and neglected -- lawns overgrown with weeds and the wall remnants left behind in a jagged mess. No footsteps traverse their thresholds.

Kawamoto had set aside 4332 Kahala Ave. for a family of 10, he said last year. Two spacious side-by-side homes, 4806A and 4806B Kahala Ave., which share a tennis court in the back, also remain empty, along with 4432 Kahala Ave., a modest, four-bedroom home.

Another home at 4286 Kahala Ave., a small cottage built in 1931, also sits empty, the plumeria tree in front wilting from lack of water.

A new home, meanwhile, is being built next door behind a large, rock wall by JTG LLC, an affiliate of Pyramid Construction managed by Timothy Gutierrez. The home is not a project of Kawamoto's, said Gutierrez.

Neighborhood rumbling

Minutes from the neighborhood board meetings indicate that Kawamoto has become a regular item on the agenda -- and regular topic of discussion during the public commentary period.

Apparently, according to the minutes, some residents even took offense at the Hawaiian families who put up banners saying: "Thank you, Kawamoto-san!"

Those banners have since been taken down.

Richard Turbin, an attorney and former chair of the Waialae-Kahala neighborhood board, has been fielding regular calls from neighbors complaining about the Japanese billionaire's latest escapades for about a year now.

There are no complaints regarding the three families living in Kawamoto's homes -- those families seem to be doing the best they can to take care of the properties, he said. It's the ones Kawamoto has left empty and neglected that are raising the neighborhood's ire.

"There's a lot of anger in the neighborhood about his cutting down trees," said Turbin. "Or about the illegal dumping and filling up of swimming pools."

Turbin said the topic of whether or not to file a lawsuit has been bandied about, but the 1,700-member Kahala Community Association does not have the funds to move forward on that.

"Whatever they (KCA) do, they have to raise money and hire lawyers, so it's a very difficult thing to do," said Turbin. "It's just a group of volunteers. It takes organization and commitment."

Some neighbors were appalled that Kawamoto cut down large palm trees on his property -- trees that were perfectly good and would take decades to mature. One neighbor also said his trees accidentally were cut down by Kawamoto's landscapers.

Turbin and the neighbors say that Kawamoto is violating the deed covenants of the community association, and possibly some city health codes.

But the association has little enforcement clout. At the urging of residents, the city has gone to the Kahala properties to check for violations, and left, saying there weren't any.

Kawamoto did have demolition permits for at least five of the Kahala Avenue homes where walls were knocked down, according to property records.

One of his homes, on the makai side across from Hunakai Street, has a stagnant, black swimming pool that has long been neglected, visible from the beach.

At one time, some obscene graffiti also had gone up alongside the wall to the beach path adjacent to the home, but it has since been painted over.

In front, what once was a tennis court is now strewn with debris behind torn, jagged walls and tree stumps. Dozens of plastic trash bags sit bundled up on the property.

"It's getting worse and worse," said Turbin. "He goes into the neighborhoods, and then he trashes the houses. In Kahala, he's made the houses look ugly."

In response to the neighbors, Kawamoto simply wrote: "I do appreciate their concerns."

Few residents really know how to communicate with Kawamoto, who only comes to town every other month. He has switched interpreters several times, and does not communicate via e-mail or cell phone, but by fax.

Developer Don Eovino of Eovino & Associates, who sold the former Hemmeter estate in Kahala to the Japanese tycoon, said he's tried to approach him in the neighborhood, but is ignored.

Some say Kawamoto only understands "selective English," and understands what he wants. Some contractors who have had bad experiences have sworn never to do business with him again.

In addition, Kawamoto is no longer receiving inquiries for his Kahala homes.

He informed the Star-Bulletin that the post office box he originally set up (P.O. Box 15547) to field letters from families interested in living in his homes has now been closed.

Real estate agents, meanwhile, have put up several "For Sale" signs near Kawamoto homes along Kahala Avenue.

Part II tomorrow: The Kawamoto Estate