With rare exception, nothing new can be built in Kakaako without something old going away.
Case in point: Tenants of the block bounded by Auahi, Keawe, Pohukaina and South streets have begun receiving notices to start looking for new locations, consistent with the expirations of their leases with landowner Kamehameha Schools.
A rendering in the executive summary of the schools’ plan for so-called Block B shows a mix of structured parking and building roofs.
It was no surprise. Longtime tenants have known for “10 to 15 years,” said Gail Weeks, general manager of Hawaiian Beauty Products Ltd. at 630 Auahi St.
The wholesaler’s lease expires at the end of June, but Kamehameha Schools has given the beauty supply business an extension through Dec. 31. Through its real estate broker it is looking for new space that will include store space and demonstration space, Weeks said.
Other affected businesses include nonprofit volleyball institute Ka Ulukoa at 628 Auahi St., and J’s BBQ at 410 Keawe St. and its neighbors stretching mauka up Keawe Street toward Pohukaina. Immediately next door to J’s is tech company PDC Systems; upstairs neighbor Kam Kasuals Inc., a footwear company with warehouse space in the adjacent beauty supply building; and ReStyle Hawaii, which sells new and gently used furniture and home accessories.
“What I don’t want is, somebody wakes up with 30 days” to find a new location, said Christian O’Connor, senior asset manager for Kakaako for Kamehameha Schools.
It can take seven to nine months to complete a lease transaction, so “we’re asking our team to now assist these people as they make these migrations,” he said.
For tenants whose businesses might not fit in with the overall vision for the new Kakaako, Kamehameha Schools is offering tenants “opportunities in Kapalama, Kahala, different zones where we already control the land,” he said, areas that also include Moiliili and at the Royal Hawaiian Center.
If those don’t work, brokers working with the schools can help tenants look at sites outside of the schools’ property portfolio.
Whatever the case, Kamehameha Schools will be helping current tenants with their moving expenses, and will be explaining that in one-on-one and group meetings with tenants.
Patti Wager and Patti Bruce are among the collaborators who share the ReStyle space with lessee Cathy Lee, of Cathy Lee Style LLC.
Wager and Bruce both “love” the youthful energy that has developed in the reinvigorated Kakaako area, with events such as Eat the Street and Honolulu Night Market.
“We’d love to stay,” Wager said. “This is a great space.”
The way it is now, Kakaako is “a very unpretentious area; it’s not high-end,” Bruce said.
Both would like to see the area retain its funky, urban and youthful vibe and to remain accessible and affordable for local businesses and local shoppers, they said.
The schools’ plan explains that Auahi Street will be the heart of street life in Kakaako and that it will be the community’s main retail corridor, offering a range of dining, retail and service options to area residents.
With roughly 30 condo towers envisioned for the area over the next decade or two, seven of them on Kamehameha Schools property, those residents will be legion.
OHANA NEEDS A NEW HOME
Change is hardly exclusive to Kakaako.
Ohana Karaoke in Kailua is looking for a new home, as Kaneohe Ranch Co. did not renew its lease for units 107 and 108 at 131 Hekili St., across from Pali Lanes.
No other adjacent business are affected by the decision, said Mitch D’Olier, Kaneohe Ranch president and CEO, who confirmed that Ohana’s lease was not renewed.
Ohana is an uncharacteristically bright bar which sets a friendly, almost dinerlike vibe in the place, where new customers are welcomed by the regulars.
The owner could not be reached, but patrons told a Star-Advertiser colleague that Ohana will have to leave at the end of the month and that they were circulating a petition to keep it open.
———
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
