Hawaii Real Estate and Economy

Friday, October 5, 2012

Big Island Real Estate – Plans for A New Kona Hospital

Hawaii Health Systems Corp. has announced plans to build a new $200 million hospital in Kona to replace an old facility located 15 miles away in Kealakehua. According to president and CEO of HHSC, Bruce Anderson, it make take as long as five to ten years to actually secure funding and build the hospital, but the demand is there due to a growth in the area’s population. Anderson stated, ”Everyone agrees the community needs a new hospital (closer to the center of town). The existing hospital is in the wrong place. It was built decades ago when coffee was king,. That area in South Kona was the area where most people lived.”

State Senator Josh Green added, ”Now that the population is really booming up here, it makes sense. That’s a gigantic increase. After all these years of growth, we’re now catching up with the infrastructure. The logical next major piece will be a new hospital.”

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-5-2012, 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

Honolulu Rail Project – Positive Audit For Rail

Porter and Associates Inc., and outside audit company, has reviewed the city’s financial plan for the Honolulu Rail Project and has stated that ”the city has the financial capacity to construct the project, and to address reasonable risks regarding the project costs and funding.”. The report released by Porter and Associates also noted that the city is in a secure financial position in the event that the project runs 10% over estimates, thanks to a $450 million line of credit that the city agreed to extend to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART).

Don Horner, the Finance Committee Chairman for HART stated, This independent financial assessment analysis of the project was comprehensive and complete. The bottom-line conclusion was the overall HART financial plan is reasonable when compared to other projects around the U.S. and our city has the expertise and financial capacity to build and operate the system, which would provide a significant improvement to our existing traffic challenges.”

Executive Director and CEO of HART added, ”This external review is a key element of the Federal Transit Administration’s evaluation of Oahu’s rail project for our Full Funding Grant Agreement and reinforces the fact that we are on track to receive our FFGA by the end of the year. This review validates our current financial plan, which includes a total of $1.55 billion in federal funding, $645 million in contingency funds to cover unforeseen expenses and an ending cash surplus of $193 million. It indicates we’re on target.”

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Maui Real Estate – County to Spend $37,500 to Hunt Axis Deer

Maui County has announced that they will spend $37,500 to support the Maui Deer Axis Harvesting Cooperative to hunt deer on the island. It is estimated that there are as many as 60,000 axis deer on Maui and farmers and ranchers have been protesting the damage that the deer are causing to their crops and fields. Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa stated, ”These deer are a menace to our farmlands and ranches and cause about a million dollars in damage to crops and property every year. The formation of the MADHC is our first step towards controlling this invasive species and turning a pest into a resource.”

The hope is to perhaps create a venison industry with the meat harvested as well as sell the hides and other parts of the deer. Hunters will be trained through a certified National Rifle Association program. For Maui property owners wishing to find out more information about this program, please contact Michael Tavares at mauiaxisdeer@gmail.com or at 808.269.4825

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-4-2012, 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

Honolulu Rail Project – Cayetano Releases New Information on Bus Transit Plan

Former Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano is running in the November election for Mayor of Honolulu. A strong opponent of the city’s $5.26 billion rail project, Cayetano has unveiled his own solution to Hawaii’s traffic problem, a $1.5 billion plan called Flexible Affordable Smart Transportation or FAST. The FAST project has several components including having additional express bus routes between Central and West Oahu and downtown Honolulu and building an express lane for buses along the Moanalua Freeway. Perhaps most importantly, Cayetano notes that the long term maintenance cost will be significantly lower over time. According to Cayetano’s staff, the FAST project would be eligible for federal funding, which would reduce the cost to the city.

However, Kirk Caldwell, who is also running for mayor and who is a strong supporter of the rail project was not impressed with Cayetano’s FAST plan. Caldwell stated, “What Cayetano offers is absurd and will not fix Oahu’s growing traffic problems. His plan to add Bus Rapid Transit bus lanes will take away from the crucial lanes we currently have, and drivers will have to squeeze into other lanes, which will only exasperate and worsen congestion.”. Caldwell also predicted that the final cost of Cayetano’s FAST plan would cost between $2.5 to $3 billion when it is finally completed.

North Shore Real Estate – City Council Approves Haleiwa Improvement Plan

The Honolulu City Council has given approval to Kamehameha Schools to proceed with their $12.6 million redevelopment plan for Haleiwa town on the North Shore of Oahu provided that the project adds a sidewalk and more parking. Kamehameha Schools will be demolishing a total of four properties in the heart of Haleiwa and will be constructing three new buildings in their place. They will also be renovating two existing structures.

Several North Shore community leaders continue to raise their concern that there will be increased traffic due to the project. However, Kamehameha Schools has stated that they will continue to work with the city and the community to address all concerns.

Honolulu Rail Project – Mayor Candidates Debate Rail Project

Former Governor Ben Cayetano has promised that if he is elected this November as Mayor of Honolulu that he would do everything in his power to end the Honolulu Rail Project. Kirk Caldwell, on the other hand, supports rail and feels that it is best option to reduce traffic. During their first debate, things became rather heated about the topic of rail.

Cayetano argued that Caldwell was misleading the public about how much traffic would be reduced thanks to rail. Cayetano stated, ”Both the city and the federal government agreed that rail would not relieve traffic congestion and, in fact, congestion would be worse in the future with rail than it is today without rail. And yet you kept quiet and went along with the hype. And when you became mayor, you didn’t tell the public the truth.”. The Honolulu Rail Project is estimated to cost $5.26 billion.

Caldwell argued that Cayetano does not have a better plan to deal with the city’s traffic problems and thought that Cayetano’s Flexible Affordable Smart Transportation Plan was “half baked”. Caldwell asked Cayetano for specifics on his FAST plan and argued that it would cost more then the $1.5 billion that Cayetano estimates.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

State Prepares for Boom in Taiwanese Tourism

Starting on November 1, 2012, the United States will be offering visa-free travel for eligible Taiwanese citizens, allowing them to stay in the USA for up to 90 days on business or tourism. The hope is that this program will eventually lead to business and trade opportunities for the two countries, but an initial spike in tourism is expected almost immediately. President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Mike McCartney, noted that when a similar agreement was made with Korea in the end of 2008, Hawaii saw a 35 percent increase in Korean travelers to Hawaii in 2009. McCartney added, ”Korea has become one of the fastest-growing markets for our tourism economy. We anticipate seeing similar growth out of Taiwan following their entrance to the visa waiver program.”

In 2011 a total of 8,186 Taiwanese visitors came to Hawaii. Even without the visa waiver, the Hawaii Tourism Authority predicted at there would be approximately 10,642 arrivals by the end of 2012.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-3-2012, 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

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