Shimogawa Scoops

A real estate investor who lists addresses in Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands and Kauai has purchased the landmark former Salvation Army Thrift Store on Rice Street in Lihue on the Garden Isle for $1.65 million, Shimogawa Scoops has learned. Mark Gabbay, who formed JV D Two Lihue LLC for his Kauai commercial real estate purchase, also registered the trade name Dairy + Dime. In the sales deed, Gabbay lists two addresses, one in Hong Kong, China and another in the Virgin Islands. In his JV D Two Lihue company, there's an address that lists a home in Kilauea on Kauai's North Shore. The 22,281-square-foot old Salvation Army building occupies a 30,000-square-foot parcel, and was built in 1954. In 2004, The Salvation Army purchased the property for $1.3 million from the John T. King Trust.

Ken Kao, a noted film producer who has collaborated with actor Ryan Gosling, has purchased a beautiful oceanfront estate on the Hawaiian island of Oahu for $11.5 million, Shimogawa Scoops has learned. Kao, who created Waypoint Entertainment, formed Arcana with Gosling earlier this year. In 2016, Kao produced "The Nice Guys," which starred Gosling and Russell Crowe, among others. Kao's new Hawaii estate that's located on the slopes of Diamond Head encompasses a more than 6,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, four bathroom home on 0.28 acres. In 2008, Beecom Hawaii purchased the estate, which was built in 2001, for $9.5 million. About four years earlier, the home was purchased for $5.5 million. The East Honolulu property comes with 180 degree ocean views, a chef's kitchen, cathedral ceiling, a pool and private beach access.

An affiliate of Hawaii engineering giant R.M. Towill Corp. has purchased a 161-acre parcel in Kunia in Central Oahu that’s approved for the development of up to 1,000 homes, public records show. Earlier this month, RP2 Ventures LLC, which traces back to one of the largest engineering firms in Hawaii, finalized its $10.2 million purchase of the 161 acres adjacent to the Royal Kunia Country Club. A partnership involving California’s Canyon Capital Realty Advisors was the seller. The land is part of the long-delayed second phase of the Royal Kunia master-planned community. The development stalled in 2003 when Hawaii developer Herbert Horita’s Halekua Development Corp. got into some financial troubles. The vacant land has a total assessed value of $16.6 million. R.M. Towill, which was founded in 1930, provides such services as civil engineering, water and wastewater engineering, surveying and mapping, planning and permitting and construction management.

The owner of Laugh Factory, one of the most popular comedy club chains in the United States that has hosted performances by such stars as Adam Sandler, Chris Tucker, Eddie Murphy and Jay Leno, has made a serious buy of hundreds of acres of prime agricultural lands in Hawaii from Alexander & Baldwin Inc. Jamie Masada, an American businessman and comedian, who founded Laugh Factory that is headquartered in Los Angeles on famed Sunset Boulevard, purchased 272 acres of agricultural lands on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai’s South Shore that makes up “Brydeswood Ranch” for about $8 million, according to public records. Brydeswood Ranch, which encompasses 23 subdivided lots ranging in size from four to 17 acres with a total density of about 80 homesites, includes the historic manager’s stone house that was built in 1860, according to Hawaii Life, the listing company for the unique property. The big land purchase along Kaumualii Highway shows that there’s still considerable intere...

A 5-megawatt solar farm in West Oahu is making its way through the process with a consultant for the developer of the project presenting plans to the area neighborhood board next week. Kawika McKeague of Honolulu architecture firm G70 is scheduled to give a presentation on the project to the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board on Wednesday evening. The solar farm is expected to be built in Kalaeloa just below the Kalaeloa Heritage Park along Coral Sea Road. Earlier this year, the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency regulating development in Kalaeloa, entered into lease negotiations with Aloha Solar Energy Fund II/ECC Energy Solutions LLC on the project. Aloha Solar was one of six organizations that expressed interest in building a 5-megawatt solar farm in Kalaeloa on about 20 acres. Interestingly, last month, the HCDA nixed another developer's plan to build a large solar farm in Kalaeloa.

Marcus Mariota, the Hawaii-born Tennessee Titans quarterback, paid nearly double the assessed value of his new Hawaii home. In May, the St. Louis School star purchased a more than 3,000-square-foot home near Kailua Beach in Windward Oahu with four bedrooms and four bathrooms for $2.45 million. The total assessed value for the property is $1.7 million. The purchase came out to $767 per square foot. The home, which was built in 2017 and purchased by Mariota in May, was only on the market for 90 days. It has a total floor area of 4,194 square feet and sits on a 10,000-square-foot lot. Amenities of the home include a pool, maid and guest quarters and a workshop. Mariota, one of the most popular athletes in Hawaii, was a star quarterback for the University of Oregon Ducks football team. Numerous local companies have latched onto his star power by having him become their spokesman, including First Hawaiian Bank and Island Insurance.

A housing project that is expected to be the first of its kind in Hawaii has been downsized by a couple of floors, according to recently released public documents for the development. Located in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, New York-based BronxPro Group’s Nohona Hale project includes 111 affordable rental micro-units in a now 14-story tower set upon a two-level podium that will encompass the lobby, living room, community spaces and management offices. The project, which will include units that measure about 300 square feet, was once supposed to be 16 stories. It will be aimed at low-income households earning 60 percent below the area median income and 10 percent of the project’s units will be set aside for families earning 30 percent AMI or less. Nohona Hale will be built on a 10,450-square-foot vacant lot on Cooke Street, and includes EAH Housing as part of the development team, according to the project’s final environmental assessment prepared by Wilson Okamoto Co...