Massage clinic chain expands to isles

An Arizona-based chain of massage clinics plans to expand to Hawaii with five to 10 stores.

Massage Envy has signed a development agreement to establish the franchise in Hawaii, with an initial store on Oahu later this year.

The chain is being established in Hawaii by Nathan McFarland and Lari Jarvis, former agents at Wells Fargo.

Massage Envy was founded in 2002 and has become a fast-growing franchise. Last year 43 stores opened, giving the chain about 660 stores in 43 states.

5 Lanai luxury condos sell in auction

An attempt by Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii to kick-start sales of luxury residential property on Lanai through an auction exceeded the company’s expectations, though only about one-third of the properties sold.

Castle & Cooke said it sold five condominiums at Manele Resort for nearly $6 million, or close to $1.2 million each on average. The company had aimed to sell 14 properties, including three lots, at the auction run last month by California-based Accelerated Marketing Partners.

Castle & Cooke, which had never before tried to auction homes in Hawaii, turned to the setup as a way to unload unsold inventory in a stalled market. The idea was that if the developer could eliminate its backlog, even at a discount, then it could resume building sooner.

Harry Saunders, Castle & Cooke Hawaii president, said the results exceeded the company’s expectations. The five condos sold for about 80 percent of the most recent previous sale at Manele last year, according to Castle & Cooke.

Properties that weren’t sold are being offered again through conventional sales and marketing efforts.

Eye care campus breaks ground

An eye care campus devoted to accelerating biomedical innovation, developing technologies to restore vision for the blind, and building an internationally recognized Vision Institute broke ground yesterday at Dole Cannery Shops in Iwilei.

The tech cluster includes Skai Vision Institute, a global center for the restoration of vision; Cellular Bioengineering Inc. / Eyegenix, which develop and manufacture artificial cornea technology; Skai Ventures, the parent venture accelerator focused on the transformation of ideas into technology companies in Hawaii; the Eye Surgery Center of Hawaii, an ophthalmic ambulatory surgery center; and World Children’s Vision, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing blind children to Honolulu for the gift of sight.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye served as the keynote speaker.

Maui students to get financial tutoring

Junior Achievement of Hawaii, along with volunteers from American Savings Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank and ING Direct, will instruct about 160 first-graders at Lihikai Elementary School in Kahului next week about the economics of life as part of a financial literacy series developed by the nonprofit organization.

The classes will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. For more information, go to www.ja.org.

On the Move

First Hawaiian Bank has promoted the following bank officers:
— Alethea Seto to senior vice president and senior sales manager from vice president and sales manager of the Sales, Service and Training Division.
— Neal Okabayashi to senior vice president from vice president of Government Affairs.
— Mark F. Oyadomori to senior vice president from vice president of the Wealth Advisory Services Division.
— Wayne K. Suehiro to senior vice president and area manager from vice president and area manager at Pearlridge Branch.
— Lynn M. Takahashi to senior vice president from vice president of Private Banking Division.

» Walmart Foundation has awarded $402,000 in grants to the following nonprofit groups: The Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation, $100,000; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu, $49,000; Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island, $60,000; Family Promise of Hawaii, $33,000; Hawaii State Chapter of the American Red Cross, $50,000; Hawaiian Kamali’i Inc., $25,000; Malama Learning Center, $35,000; Maui Economic Opportunity, $25,000; and Surfrider Spirit Sessions, $25,000.