Howard Hughes Corp has announced that they are in the process of negotiating a 40-year long lease with the Hawaii Community Development Authority for the Kewalo Basin small boat harbor in Kakaako. Hughes Corp, which currently is in the process of redeveloping 60 acres of land across the street from Kewalo Basin, stated that their ties to the neighborhood makes them the best choice redeveloping Kewalo Basin. The corporation added that they did not need to obtain financing to complete the estimated $22 million to complete the project and added that they can complete the work in 18 to 24 months. Hughes Corp would hire an experienced harbor developer and manager to handle the day to day operations of Kewalo Basin. Howard Hughes Corp's senior vice president in Hawaii, David Striph, stated, "We have a bigger stake in seeing that the harbor does well than anyone."
Hughes' biggest competition for securing the 40-year lease of Kewalo Basin is Almar. Almar currently operates and manages 17 harbors and marinas in California and Mexico. Almar's chief operating officer, Jim Hayes, argued, "We are the premier marina company in the country. We have a proven performance.” However, Almar would need to finance the project and would be forced to complete the work to redevelop the harbor over a five year period.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 2-6-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
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