JPMorgan Chase Affiliate Purchases Royal Hawaiian Center for Record $696.5M; Kahala Hotel & Resort Sells for $300M

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

The sale of the Royal Hawaiian Center in Honolulu closed for $696.5 million, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports.

New York-based J.P. Morgan Asset Management, an affiliate of banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co., acquired Waikiki’s largest shopping complex from Kamehameha Schools in June.

The transaction, which includes the mall buildings but not the underlying land, sets a new record for retail property in Waikiki.

“It achieved a high-water mark for a retail property in Waikiki, demonstrating the strong demand for investment properties in Hawaii,” Mike Hamasu, consulting and research director at Colliers International, told the newspaper. “I can’t imagine anywhere else would sell for $2,165 a square foot.”

Kamehameha Schools selected Eastdil Secured to find a buyer for the center in October 2013.

Built in 1979 and renovated in 2005, the Royal Hawaiian Center is located on a 6.3-acre parcel along a three-block stretch of Kalakaua Avenue. The property comprises more than 322,000 square feet of leasable area, with more than 110 shops and restaurants, including The Royal Grove, a unique 30,000-square-foot cultural venue reminiscent of Waikiki’s historic Helumoa coconut grove.

“Royal Hawaiian Center is one of the nation’s finest shopping venues and is an outstanding addition to our portfolio of best-in-class core retail properties,” Chris Graham, managing director & head of Western U.S. acquisitions for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said in a news release.

In other news, Japanese company Resorttrust Inc. has agreed to purchase the upscale 338-room Kahala Hotel & Resort in East Honolulu for $300 million. The transaction is expected to close on Sept. 30, according to the property’s owner, Kahala Hotel Investors LLC.

The Pacific Business News reports that the hotel’s current employees and contracts with travel and marketing partners will be retained.

Open since 1964, the hotel operated as the Kahala Hilton for decades. In the 1990s, it was purchased by Japan-based Kahala Hotel Associates LLP and became a Mandarin Oriental property.

Honolulu-based Trinity Investments acquired the resort in 2005 and partnered with Landmark Hotels to manage it. It also changed the hotel’s name from the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii to its current designation.

Resorttrust, which is based in Nagoya, anticipates an annual cash flow of more than $9.7 million (approximately one billion yen), based on the hotel’s operating revenue.

Photo credit: www.royalhawaiiancenter.com