Shimogawa Scoops

A planned senior housing project in Honolulu's Chinatown is getting tripped up by high construction costs. The 150-unit Halewaiolu senior residence project, which is being developed by Michaels Development Co., was first proposed years ago. At a recent area neighborhood meeting, the developer and other stakeholders gave an update on the development, which is now scheduled to start construction in late 2019. The project will include 120 single-bed units and 30 double-bed units on 19 floors with 10 units per floor.  Karen Seddon, regional vice president for Michaels Development, said at the meeting that the cost of construction has gone up and that it is still working on securing funding for the project. Besides funding, there are other hurdles that the developer must clear including satisfying requirements from the National Historic Preservation Act. Halewaiolu would satisfy a huge demand for senior housing in the state, which has one of the fastest growing senior pop

A new restaurant is opening in the space formerly occupied by the popular Pearl Ultralounge at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu that has been vacant for about four years. Grub & Barrels Inc. has filed a building permit Monday with city regulators to open its new restaurant in the former Pearl space at Hookipa Terrace on the third floor of the state's largest shopping center. The company, which was formed earlier this year by Annie Kim, has registered the trade names "Grub & Barrels" and "The Brilliant Ox." John Harada of Honolulu-based In + Form Design Inc. is listed as the architect for the project. In 2013, Pearl closed after being in business for seven years due to years of damage from water leaks from the tenant above — Romano's Macaroni Grill. In other restaurant news at Ala Moana Center, chef Alan Wong announced Monday that his Pineapple Room restaurant at Macy's is closing at the end of this month.

The Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki, which is currently undergoing a more than $100 million redevelopment, has been sold for $515 million, according to a new report. CBRE Hawaii's investment report that was released this month made note of the sale of the 839-room Pacific Beach Hotel, which will be renamed the Alohilani Resort at Waikiki Beach. CBRE said that the hotel changed hands earlier this quarter. The hotel's redevelopment has recently hit a snag after officials found iwi, or ancient Hawaiian remains, at its site on Kalakaua Avenue, although work continues to move ahead. The new hotel is expected to gain two restaurants by famous chef Masaharu Morimoto. The Queen Liliuokalani Trust owns the land that the more than 100,000-square-feet of land the hotel occupies. HH Pacific Beach LP is listed as the owner of the hotel. Despite fewer transactions this year, CBRE says that 2017 is poised to be another active year for investment in the state. Currently, the year-to-

A Japanese company is opening a new restaurant near Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. Day Dream International Inc. has recently registered the trade name "Ke Aloha Cafe" with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The company also posted a Craigslist advertisement Wednesday looking for workers for its new cafe. The ad says the cafe is scheduled to open on August 9 at the new 808 Center on Sheridan Street that's near Walmart and Sam's Club stores. Ke Aloha Cafe is scheduled to be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also plans to sell alcoholic beverages, according to the ad.

An office/warehouse building in Kakaako that was built decades ago is being demolished to create open space in the growing Honolulu neighborhood. The project is a rare sight since buildings demolished in the area mainly have been replaced by brand new, shiny mixed-use towers. Located at 620 Coral St. near Lex Brodie's Tire Shop, the 7,297-square-foot building on 13,533-square-feet of land is owned by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. On Wednesday, the HHFDC filed a $664,000 building permit to demolish the building. Honolulu-based Belt Collins Ltd. is listed as a contractor for the project, which will add open space to the area as part of a requirement from the development of the nearby Pohulani elderly rental project. The project is located across the street from Mother Waldron Park and near Stanford Carr Development's Halekauwila Place rental project.

A long-planned golf course home development along the Kapolei Golf Club in West Oahu is finally moving forward. Gentry Homes' 66-unit Kealii project has been the works for at least a couple of years. It is located on 17 acres of land along Kapolei Parkway between the course and the Kanehili subdivision.  This week, Gentry's subsidiary Gentry KGC LLC filed stormwater permits for the project, which signals the project is moving ahead. Gentry, one of the largest home builders in Hawaii, bought the land from a subsidiary of Pacific Links Hawaii for $7.5 million, public records show. The developer has built several projects in West Oahu, as well as elsewhere in the state.

The New York company that purchased Chevron Corp.'s Hawaii operation last year is already looking to sell 12 gas station and convenience store properties that span from Waipahu to Honolulu on Oahu with an asking price of $49.5 million. A CBRE Hawaii sales listing says that One Rock Capital Partners' subsidiary IES Retail LLC intends to sell these properties that total nearly 5.7 acres and then strike a lease deal with the new owner of these properties. The sale leaseback involves 20 years with three five-year options to renew. The gas stations are being operated under the Texaco brand, and are located in Waipahu, Pearl City, Honolulu and Kailua. CBRE Hawaii says that the net operating income for these stations is about $2.8 million. Late last year, One Rock Capital purchased Chevron Hawaii's assets including the refinery in Kapolei, four production distribution terminals on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island and nearly 60 retail gas stations. The total purchase p