Kamehameha Schools Sells Interest in Iconic Honolulu High-Rise

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Kamehameha Schools, Hawaii’s largest private landowner, has sold the land under the 41-story mixed-use Executive Centre tower in downtown Honolulu.

According to the Pacific Business News, a group of local buyers, including the condo’s association of apartment owners, paid about $75 million to acquire the building’s leased-fee interest.

Located at 1088 Bishop St., the property features approximately 120 hotel units managed by Aston Hotels & Resorts, about 200 residential units and nearly 100 office units. There is also retail space, including the Hukilau Honolulu restaurant and Longs Drugs, a penthouse and a 12-story low-rise structure comprising 33 town homes and a parking facility.

“The property, which has a significant residential condominium component, is subject to a long-term lease (that runs through 2053), and is not part of any of Kamehameha’s strategic development areas,” Kekoa Paulsen, spokesman for Kamehameha Schools, told the newspaper in an email statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, individual condo owners may acquire the fee-simple title to their residential and commercial units. Public records indicate that Hawaii businessman Duane Kurisu, ResortQuest Hawaii, Nevada Holdings, Calvert Chipchase III Trust, Best Buy Hawaii International, Hawaii Holdings L.L.C., Longs Drugs and MB Technologies are among the buyers of the property’s leased-fee interest.

The transaction is part of Kamehameha Schools’ long-term strategy to generate revenue from commercial real estate sales to fund its educational mission. Over the past year, the $9.2 billion private trust has sold several properties, including the Costco-anchored Hawaii Kai Towne Center, to California’s ValueRock Realty Partners for $109.9 million and the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki to a JPMorgan Chase affiliate for nearly $700 million.

Photo credit: Eugene Kim via Flickr