Shimogawa Scoops

Don Horner, former CEO of First Hawaiian Bank, has purchased his fourth commercial real estate property, this time in Kapolei in West Oahu, Shimogawa Scoops has learned. Horner, one of the most well-known figures in Hawaii’s banking industry, has been on a real estate buying streak with purchases in Waikiki and the Ala Moana area, including a parcel near the Waikiki Zoo that will be redeveloped into a Denny’s restaurant. Horner’s latest purchase is a little more than an acre vacant parcel on Kapolei Parkway. He paid about $1.5 million for the B-1-zoned parcel, which came out to $33.56 per square foot. No building permits have been filed since Horner purchased the lot, and no word on his plans yet for the parcel that’s near the Hoakalei Country Club.

Kmart is closing its last store in Hawaii, which is located on the island of Kauai, according to public documents released Thursday. Located at Kukui Grove Center in Lihue, the Kmart store was the last remaining store to be open in the state. The Sears Holding-owned store chain said Thursday that the closure is part of its ongoing efforts to streamline the company’s operations and focus on its best stores. Sears has identified about 100 non-profitable stores, many of which will begin store closing sales in the near future. The company said that it informed associates at 15 Kmart stores and 48 Sears stores that it will be closing these stores in early September. Eligible associates impacted by these store closures will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores. Liquidation sales will begin as early as June 14 at these closing stores. Sears also recently announced that it will close its Kailua-Kona locati...

Diamond Resorts International, a timeshare company based in Las Vegas, paid $215.1 million for The Modern Honolulu hotel, Shimogawa Scoops has learned. On April 19, Diamond Resorts announced its purchase of the 353-room hotel for an undisclosed price. The $215.1 million price tag equates to Diamond paying about $609,000 per room, which is much higher than the other Waikiki hotels that traded earlier this year. The 72-room Hotel Renew by Aston was purchased for $25.8 million in January for $358,333 per room, while the 644-room Aston Waikiki Beach was sold for $200 million, or $310,559 per room.

Kmart is closing one of its last stores in Hawaii in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Published media reports say the Big Island store is expected to close this summer. The Kailua-Kona store’s closure is part of the latest round of about 40 store closures across the country. The closure leaves just the Kauai store in Lihue as the only Kmart store to be open in the Islands. The Sears-owned company has been on a downward spiral, as online retail giants like Amazon grab more and more retail market share throughout the years.

Avalon Development, a prominent Honolulu-based real estate company, is building a new 9,000-square-foot warehouse in Waipahu in Central Oahu. The warehouse fills a huge need for small-business spaces on Oahu. For instance, Hawaii has one the lowest industrial vacancy rates in the nation. The project, which is expected to start construction in December and be completed by June 2019, is being built on land owned by Robinson Estates Trust. Leasing of the warehouse, which could be divided into six different spaces, each totaling around 1,500 square feet, is currently taking place. To reserve your space in one of the only new warehouses being built on Oahu, call (808-369-1126) or email ( ds@avalonhi.com ) Avalon Commercial. Located on Leowahine Street between Farrington Highway and Waipahu Street, the warehouse is expected to occupied by a variety of businesses.

Host Hotels & Resorts, an owner of luxury hotels in the U.S. has paid $366 million for the 301-room Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort on Maui, public records show. The purchase is part of Host Hotel’s acquisition of three Hyatt-operated hotels for $1 billion. The other hotels are located in San Francisco and in Florida. The Maryland-based hotel company also owns three other hotels in Hawaii, including the Farimont Kea Lani on Maui, the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, according to its website. Hawaii hotels continue to attract strong interest from offshore investors, mainly because of the state’s strong tourism sector, which is on the way to topping the 10 million annual visitor mark. Expect to see continued interest in Hawaii hotels from offshore investors, with several hotels on the market across the state.

A long-planned affordable housing project in West Oahu is scheduled to start construction this month and be completed by late 2019, Shimogawa Scoops has learned. Liz Char of Michaels Development Co., the developer of the project, said recently in public documents that the project, which is located on state-owned property along Keahumoa Parkway in Ewa Beach, will include one, two and three-bedroom apartment units. This project has been in the works since 2014, and will be available for families who are making 100 percent area median income. There also are units that will be available for those making 30 percent AMI. The 320-unit project is scheduled to be completed in December 2019.