Shimogawa Scoops

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 The project is a rare sight since buildings demolished in the area mainly have been replaced by brand new, shiny mixed-use towers.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

George Zimmer, the famous face and founder of Men's Warehouse, has sold another one of his Big Island of Hawaii properties to a former California wine company executive. Zimmer recently sold his Kamuela property that's on Wailea Beach on the West Shore of the island to Jackrabbit LLC, a company headed by Gregory and Vicki McManus, who once owned Napa Valley Wine Train. The sales price was about $3.5 million, public records show. Zimmer has long owned multiple properties on the Big Island, and made a big splash in late 2015 when he purchased singer Neil Young's estate on the island. After leaving Men's Warehouse several years ago, Zimmer went on to start Generation Tux, which rents suits and tuxedos online.

A teenager who attends Punahou School has recently started his own social media management agency. Scott Nakaoka, a 17-year-old senior from the prominent Honolulu school that includes former President Barack Obama as one of its former graduates, has formed Kakou Communications LLC. He told this blog that his company's goal is to help older mom-and-pop companies to modernize their business to keep up-to-date in today's society. "We want to move their paper advertising to online and help build or refresh their websites," Nakaoka said. "My generation is all about social media. We are constantly on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., and growing up with social media helped me gain knowledge about what, when and how to post." He said it also taught him what types of posts or web designs grab people's attention and what has potential to be shared, liked and reposted. Kakou, a Hawaiian word, translates into English as "everyone" or &

A former owner of Pipeline Cafe is opening a new gastropub at Ala Moana Center's new restaurant complex that's located in part of the former Shirokiya space. Charles Jewitt's Agave & Vine LLC filed a $70,000 building permit with Honolulu regulators Wednesday for his new bar and lounge that is expected to open at The Lanai at Ala Moana in Honolulu. Karen Sakamoto of Honolulu-based Next Design LLC is listed as the architect for the project. In 2013, Jewitt registered the trade name Agave & Vine with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The Lanai, which also will include such tenants as Brug Bakery and Hi Tea Cafe, is scheduled to open this fall. The food court is expected to have up to 12 specialty food vendors and indoor and outdoor seating for up to 450 people. Jewitt also co-owned Apartment3 and was part of the group that opened The Republik along Kapiolani Boulevard in 2011.

Lady M, a popular pastry restaurant that has locations across the country, is opening its first Hawaii boutique in Waikiki, public records show. The company, which is headed by Hawaii native Ken Romaniszyn whose family owns the Wasabi Bistro restaurant group, filed a $45,000 building permit with Honolulu regulators Tuesday for a new store at the Waikiki Beach Walk mixed-use complex. Earlier this year, Romaniszyn registered a new business in Hawaii called "Lady M Hawaii LLC." Honolulu-based Roy K. Yamamoto Architect AIA Inc. is listed as the architect for the company's first Hawaii store. Lady M sells cakes and pastries, as well as savory items including salads and a variety of sandwiches. Waikiki Beach Walk, which is near the Trump Waikiki hotel and the Halekulani hotel, includes such tenants as Candy Bar Hawaii, Yard House, Giovanni Pastrami and Roy's Waikiki.

Diptyque Paris, the Paris-based luxury perfume and scented candles retailer, is expanding to Hawaii with a new store at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. On Tuesday, the company filed a $90,000 building permit witht the Honolulu building department for its new store at the state's largest shopping mall. Honolulu architect Ann Kutaka is listed as the architect for the project. Diptyque's products are currently sold in such Hawaii stores as the Ala Moana Center Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom stores. Besides having several boutiques in Paris, the retailers also has stores in such major cities as London, Tokyo, Dubai, New York City, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas and Chicago. The company was founded in 1961 by three friends with different career paths, including a painter, set designer and an architecture firm worker.

One of billionaire Larry Ellison's Four Seasons-branded hotels on the Hawaiian island of Lanai that has been closed since 2015 will undergo a $75 million renovation, which will include reducing the room count by about 10 rooms, adding spa treatment facilities, building new fitness buildings and a yoga pavilion and creating a waterway feature, as well as a natural free-form pool and jacuzzi, public documents show. The 102-room The Lodge at Koele, which was purchased by the Oracle Corp. co-founder in 2012 as part of his overall $300 million purchase of 98 percent of Lanai, will also undergo other upgrades such as the addition of a conservatory dining pavilion that will extend from the existing dining area, the conversion of six guestrooms into meeting rooms and four guestrooms into two large suites. Details of this major renovation at The Lodge at Koele was recently revealed in public documents filed with the County of Maui by Ellison's company Pulama Lanai. Local firm Munek

A new Las Vegas-based luxury eyewear company that has ties to a former Oakley executive is expanding to Hawaii with a shop opening in Waikiki. Vitra Eyewear, which opened its first boutique in 2015 in California, filed a building permit Friday with Honolulu regulators for its new shop at the Royal Hawaiian Center on Kalakaua Avenue. Honolulu architect Matthew Goyke, who is part of Green Sand Inc., is listed as the architect for the project. The new store is expected to open in Building "B" of the center, joining other tenants in that building such as Anteprima Wirebag, Crazy Shirts, Fighting Eel, kate spade new york and LeSportsac. Vitra, which is Latin for "glasses" or "vision," carries such luxury brands as Fendi, Lindberg and Dior with some eyewear holding a hefty price tag in the tens of thousands of dollars range. The company, which is headquartered in Las Vegas and was started by executives with many years of experience in the eyewear industry

A new poke restaurant is opening in Waikiki, giving visitors a taste of one of Hawaii's most popular foods. The "Poke Bar" is opening at Waikiki Beach Walk on Lewers Street. MyMulgogi Inc., which heads this new establishment, filed a $160,000 building permit with city regulators for its new eatery. Honolulu architect Casey Kusumoto is listed as the architect for the project. Waikiki Beach Walk, which is adjacent to the Trump International Hotel at Waikiki Beach Walk, Halekulani hotel, Waikiki Parc and Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, includes such tenants as Beach Walk Cafe, Candy Bar Hawaii, Cafe Glacé, Honolulu Cookie Co., Subway, Cheeseburger Beach Walk, Giovanni Pastrami, Roy's Waikiki, Yard House and Ruth's Chris Steak House. Managed by Outrigger Enterprises Group, Beach Walk includes about 45 shops and restaurants.