Kalakaua Gardens - Residential Senior Facility Next to Hawai'i Convention Center

Construction has begun for the Kalakaua Gardens, a 17-story residential senior facility across the street from the Hawai'i Convention Center.  Officially in the Pawaa neighborhood and not in Waikiki, the property is located at 1723 Kalakaua Avenue and will feature 168 units including 136 units for assisted living.  Plans also call for 23 beds designed for memory care and 49 beds for skilled nursing.  It is estimated that it would be around the mid-$5,000 level and up for assisted living.  The developer estimates that the rental property will employ about 160 people when it is completed including 80 health care specialists.  Construction is expected to be completed in late 2015.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-11-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

Developer Hopes to Build Assisted-Living Tower in Waikiki

Developer PRW Hawaii LLC hopes to build an assisted-living tower at 1700 Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, provided that they can acquire the land and gain the necessary permissions and permits from the state and city. Under their proposal, PRW would like to build a 250 foot tall tower with as many as 250 residential units for seniors.  Residents would pay a one-time entry fee of between $750,000 to $1,000,000 for units with 1,000 sq ft of living space on average, and would pay additional monthly services fees.  However, residents will not actually own their unit.  Residents who decide to move out or die would get between 75 percent to 90 percent of their entry fee refunded to them or to their estates.  This model is similar to the one currently used by Kahala Nui.

The project will still have to obtain agreements to buy the land from multiple owners as well as work with the city Department of Planning and Permitting to rezone the parcel to allow for height increases and affordable-housing requirement issues.  Principals at PRW Hawaii LLC expects that it would take about a year to complete development arrangements and another 18 to 22 months to build the tower after that.  The developer is currently welcoming feedback from the public.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 9-9-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii Scheduled to Reopen Liliha Facility

Over two years ago, the St.Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii was forced to close down its acute-care hospital facility in Liliha.  After a long company restructuring, they are now planning to reopen their Liliha location as a skilled-nursing facility with a total of 119 beds.  According to Jerry Correa, president and CEO of St. Francis, additional services would be added in the future, including a senior community center, assisted living, adult day care, and independent-living townhouses.  Correa stated, "We're repositioning this campus to what is the right fit for the campus in the community. We're targeting the population post-acute care. We met with caregivers, geriatricians and patients and clients in the neighborhood. We said, 'This is what we're going to build, what do you think?' Overwhelmingly what we got was, 'When? Hurry up.'"

Bruce Bottorff, the spokesman for AARP Hawaii, commented, "As Hawaii ages, access and affordability of long-term care services become increasingly important. Most Hawaii residents tell us they want to stay in their homes for as long as possible, but when the preferred option of remaining independent at home is no longer practical, it can be daunting for families to find the living environment that best meets the needs of an aging loved one. We welcome the development of affordable options that deliver the high quality of care our seniors deserve."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 6-14-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

Update on the Plaza @ Waikiki - New Assisted Living Facility for Seniors

Developer MW Group has announced that they have purchased the vacant lot located at 1812 Kalakaua Avenue from PBS Hawaii for a total of $3.5 million.  The MW Group plans to build an assisted-living facility for seniors, tentatively named Plaza @ Waikiki, on the 28,761 sq ft property.  The Plaza @ Waikiki will be the fifth Plaza Assisted Living community on Oahu. MW Group plans to start construction of the facility in April 2014 and hopes to have the project completed by late 2015.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 12-7-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

Plaza Assisted Living Considering Waikiki Location

Plaza Assisted Living currently has built three senior housing communities on Oahu and is now considering building an eight story complex in Waikiki.  The group is looking at a vacant lot across from the Hawaii Convention Center at 1812 Kalakaua Avenue.  Tentatively, the plan would be to build a 110,000 sq ft structure that would have about 140 studios and two-bedroom units.  The facility would offer rentals to seniors and provide comprehensive care services.

Jeff Merz, a Waikiki Neighborhood Board member, praised the concept and stated, "We gave the project a big thumbs-up.  We want to get a positive business in that location. That intersection has been awful for years. We think that this development will clean up the site and really the whole surrounding area.  Additional housing is very important for our community.  We like the idea that this infill development would be very walkable for the people who live there."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-16-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

Pearl City Real Estate – The Plaza at Pearl City, Assisted Living Rental Complex

MW Group Ltd, a local development firm, held a ground breaking ceremony for The Plaza at Pearl City, an assisted living rental apartment complex.  The five-story complex is located at 1048 Kuala St and will house 159 residents.  The project is expected to cost $46 million to build and will be completed by the fall of 2014.  Eventually, the developer hopes to add a second phase to The Plaza, which would allow for the care of 60 additional residents who suffer from memory disorders like dementia.  MW Group has developed similar projects in Makiki, Mililani and Moanalua.

Approximately 400 construction jobs will be generated through this project.  Once the center is completed, about 100 long term jobs would be created.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 4-16-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed in Aina Haina

Advanced Health Care Corp., an Idaho company, has announced that they would like to build a skilled nursing facility in Aina Haina. The company stated that they are under contract to purchase a 2.4 acre property located at 5415 Kalanianaole Highway. The plan is to build a 48,000 square foot facility which would have a total of fifty rooms, which would cater mostly to seniors on Medicare and Medicade. However, there are several major contigencies regarding the actual purchase of the property, and the company hopes to finish its state regulatory and permitting process before the transaction is scheduled to close in September 2013. If everything moves according to schedule, the facility would be built in 2014 and open in early 2015.

However, the project does face some opposition from the community. President of the Aina Haina Community Association, Wayson Chow, stated that concerns include how a large commercial facility on the beachfront would impact traffic and other shoreline concerns. Chow added, “To build a health care facility on an oceanfront property that’s previously been hit by the 1946 tsunami endangers the safety of patients and employees, and it would cause substantial disruption of the limited Aina Haina tsunami refuge facility. It is unwise and highly unreasonable.”

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 12-10-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

New High Rise for Seniors Proposed

Paradise Retirement Hawaii LLC has announced that they would like to build a 125 unit high-rise tower directly across from the Hawaii Convention Center at 508 Atkinson Drive.  The project would be set up as a luxury continuing-care retirement complex for people who are 60 years or older.  According to proposal, the $110 million plan would also call for the renovation of a 40 unit low-rise building next to the proposed tower at 1868 and 1880 Kahakai Drive.  However, Paradise Retirement Hawaii LLC, does not have the capital to purchase the land below the proposed site, and is asking for a group of investors or potential unit buyers to step forward to help with the purchase.

According to their press release, Paradise Retirement would like to raise between $12 to $15 million from what they are calling their “VIP Founders Club”.  These 20 founding investors or future residents would get a discount on unit prices and a two-week cruise to Tahiti.  Units would have an entry fee of between $400,000 to $1.3 milion, and would be partially refundable when a resident moves out or dies.  There would also be a monthly service fee of approximately $3,900.

Real estate experts are expressing a little bit of concern about this unusual method of raising capital.  If the project were a condominium, the Hawaii Real Estate Commission would require certain disclosures from Paradise Retirement.  However, a entry-fee based senior-living project is not regulated by the Hawaii Real Estate Commission, so no direct oversight would be in place.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-24-2012, www.staradvertiser.com

Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®

Global Executive Realty, LLC

www.myhawaiihomesearch.com

www.myhawaiicondo.com

www.myhawaiidreamhome.com