Shimogawa Scoops

A Japanese college's vacant high-rise tower along Kapiolani Boulevard in Honolulu that has been on the market for several years has been sold for $35 million. The Hawaii Tokai International College, which moved its campus to Kapolei in West Oahu, sold its Honolulu building that overlooks Waikiki to a joint venture involving California real estate investment firm Kennedy Wilson and former Hawaii hotel executive Ben Rafter. The sale of the 172,000-square-foot building at 2241 Kapiolani Blvd. closed on Monday.  It originally had an asking price of $42 million. The property has a total assessed value of about $37 million. Several investors looked at buying the Tokai property, including those from China and here locally.  It's not clear as to what the new owners plan to do with the building that occupies a roughly 35,000-square-foot lot.  Current zoning doesn't allow for a hotel on the property, but other options could include re-opening it for educational uses ...

A burger and burrito eatery that made its name at farmer's markets and other events on Oahu, has recently opened its first brick-and-mortar space on Kapahulu Avenue in Honolulu. This week, Beyond Burgers Hawaii LLC quietly opened Burgers & Burritos Hawaii inside a space at 760 Kapahulu Ave. Beyond Burgers, headed by Jonathan Hedrick, plans to hold a grand opening for its new digs sometime next month. Beyond Burgers serves Big Island grassfed beef and other local products, as well as burritos and tacos. One of its signature dishes is its all-beef bacon-wrapped hot dogs.

The iconic Father Damien Statue at the Hawaii State Capitol in Honolulu is set to undergo a renovation. The state Department of Accounting and General Services’ Public Works Division Office has released a request for proposals for the project, which has an estimated construction cost between $250,000 and $500,000. The work will generally consist of the removal and off-site storage of the statue. The existing bases of it will be demolished and new solid granite bases will be installed. The statue will then be reinstalled at its current place at the entrance of the Capitol. The statue, also known as the Saint Damien of Molokai Statue, pays tribute to the legendary Hawaii Catholic Church priest from Belgium who sacrificed his life for the lepers of Molokai. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 and is considered as a hero in Hawaii. There’s also another bronze statue of Saint Damien at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C.  

A Japanese conglomerate has purchased a half-acre parcel of land near the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu for 8.3 million. Kinoshita Real Estate LLC, a subsidiary of Tokyo's Kinoshita Group, which has companies in such industries as film and music production, cosmetics and broadcasting, closed on its purchase of the Hawaii property in June. The property, which is located on Kalakaua Avenue, could be developed into a high-rise condominium tower. The seller was 1700 Kalakaua LLC, which is headed by Mark Borneleit, who purchased the 22,664-square-foot parcel in 2016 from a Japanese company for $7 million. Soon after that purchase, he put the land up for sale with an asking price of $8.6 million. Located at 1617 Fern St., the vacant lot is at the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Fern Street. The sale includes highly coveted sewer credits that total more than $1 million. In the past, there were plans to build a high-rise mixed-use project on this parcel.  The Kinoshita Group ...

 Ross Dress for Less is opening a new store at Windward Mall in Kaneohe. The discount retailer filed a $2.5 million building permit with Honolulu regulators on Thursday for its new store at the largest shopping mall on the Windward side of the island. Ross, which recently opened a new store in the Honolulu neighborhood of Iwilei as part of a project involving Longs Drugs and PetSmart, already has a store in Kaneohe at the Windward City Shopping Center. It’s unclear as to whether this would be a second store for Ross in Kaneohe or if the retailer is moving to Windward Mall. The permit lists space “P02” as the location Ross will be opening at Windward Mall. The Sports Authority space is still vacant, although this may be where Ross is moving to. Ross, which also recently opened a new store at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, has 16 stores in the Islands with another opening in October in Kihei on Maui.

Lululemon's children's active-wear retailer has closed its only Hawaii store at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. Ivivva opened its first store in the state in 2014 at the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and Pensacola Street in Honolulu but moved its store to Ala Moana Center nearby. On Sunday, Ivivva by Lululemon closed its store at the state's largest shopping center on the mall's third level of the new Ewa wing near Bloomingdale's. Another Lululemon brand — Kit & Ace — also closed its store at the mall's Ewa wing after being open only for a short period of time. The Ivivva brand, created by the popular women's active-wear retailer, has been around for about five years. Canada-based Lululemon still has a big presence in Hawaii with stores at Ala Moana Center, the Waikiki Shopping Plaza and one at Whaler's Village in Lahaina on Maui.

Burger King is opening a new restaurant near Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. The fast-food giant is taking over the former Hawaiian Telcom space on Kapiolani Boulevard that's next to Thank Q Pocha restaurant. Burger King currently has 21 locations on Oahu alone, making this restaurant the 21st of its kind on the island. The Miami, Florida-based company, known for its flame-broiled hamburgers, has more than 15,000 locations in more than 100 countries.