Shimogawa Scoops

The Hotel Renew in Waikiki was recently sold for $27.7 million, according to the sales deed obtained by Shimogawa Scoops. Honolulu’s The MacNaughton Group, which sent out a press release several days ago about its purchase of the 72-room boutique hotel, did not reveal the sales price.  The purchase price equates to about $384,722 per room, which is lower than what was being paid per key about five years ago.  At that time, investors paid an average of more than $536,000 per room, according to published research reports.  This figure was tops in the nation.  While Waikiki remains a top target for investors alike, this recent purchase does show that the market may be cooling down.  Hotel Renew, which is located on Paoakalani Avenue, has a nightly room price range starting around $120 to just under $300. The MacNaughton Group has held an interest or currently holds an interest in several hotels in Hawaii.  A couple of years ago, it acquired the Lotus Honolulu ...

  An Idaho billionaire, who founded a prominent direct marketing nutritional supplements company, has recently purchased more than 1,000 acres of land on Kauai’s northeastern coast that was supposed to be developed into an agricultural subdivision, public records show. Kealia Land Co. LLC, a company with ties to Frank VanderSloot, the founder and CEO of Melaleuca Inc., closed on the more than $38 million Kealia agricultural land deal in late October. Duston Barton, president of Riverbend Management Inc., and who has close ties to VanderSloot and his companies, is listed as a manager of Kealia Land Co. LLC. The former sugar cane land was once supposed to be developed as part of the Kealanani development into homes with requirements for homeowners to use their properties for agricultural uses. In addition, there once was a plan to develop a tea farm on the land, amongst other crops, as well as nearly 200 luxury homes. There’s another 930-acre adjacent parcel that is still...

Oprah Winfrey is back again at shopping for Maui real estate, as the billionaire media mogul has recently purchased a three-acre property in Kula on Maui that’s adjacent to the other properties she owns on the Valley Isle, according to public records. The television star, who has her own TV network, already owns more than 100 acres in Kula that is occupied by her modern-style farmhouse. Winfrey paid $7 million for her latest purchase on Thompson Road, which includes a 1,139-square-foot building on the property.  The three-acre agricultural-zoned property has a total assessed value of about $416,800, tax records show. The sellers purchased the property in 1974 for $50,000, making it a 14,000 percent profit for the sellers. The deal, which closed on October 18, shows the buyer as Madrona Tree LLC that lists Cindy Iwaki, an executive of Winfrey’s companies, as its manager, according to the sales deed obtained by “Shimogawa Scoops.” Winfrey owns the other adjacent parcels of land in “u...

The major recent purchases of a couple of pristine properties on Kauai’s North Shore involves well-known buyers. However, these purchases do not involve Mark Zuckerberg, even though there may be some ties to the Facebook CEO. One purchase involves a sprawling, ultra-luxe 14-acre estate in Kilauea. Public records show that a Delaware entity called “2801 Kauapea Road LLC,” which traces back to San Francisco-based Iconiq Capital LLC, which was founded by Divesh Makan, a wealth manager, who advises top Facebook executives, including Zuckerberg. Dara Beirne, who works for Iconiq Capital, is listed as the authorized for 2801 Kauapea Road LLC on the sales deed. The Kilauea estate, which encompasses 9,249-square-feet of living space along with a resort-style pool and spa, as well as fruit orchards, a barn and guest house, was sold for $21.25 million. The total tax assessed value of the property is about $4.9 million, public records show. Neal Norman of Hawaii Life represented bot...

Chick-fil-A’s much anticipated opening in Honolulu in the former Burger King space on Beretania Street is finally moving forward. The Atlanta-based chicken restaurant chain filed a permit Monday to demolish the old Burger King building to make way for Oahu’s first Chick-fil-A eatery.  MGA Architecture is the architect for the new restaurant, which is located near Straub Hospital and the Honolulu Police Department headquarters on South Beretania Street.  Chick-fil-A is opening its first location in Hawaii on the island of Maui. Chick-fil-A was once scheduled to open in Kaneohe in Windward Oahu but the site it chose to build its restaurant is now back on the market.  The popular restaurant chain is also scheduled to open in Kapolei in West Oahu. 

  Sylvester Stallone’s former Hawaii beachfront estate on pristine Anini Beach on the island of Kauai has been sold for $8.5 million, public records show. The 3,638-square-foot home that occupies an acre of land on Kauai’s North Shore was originally built by the “Rocky” and “Rambo” movie star for his family several decades ago. A California family trust purchased the former Stallone Kilauea property, which has a total assessed tax value of about $4.7 million. Matt Beall of Hawaii Life was the listing agent. The sale closed about a month ago. The property was originally listed for $8.8 million back in August. Stallone sold the property to the latest seller for about $1.9 million in 1996.  The “Creed” actor was once very active in the Kauai real estate market, with at least two other properties he purchased several decades ago. Stallone ended up selling these two properties several years ago including one to camera maker GoPro Inc.’s first employee, which was called the ...