Kapolei water park gets new sibling
The Florida-based owner of Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii has purchased and re-branded a water park in Houston as Wet ‘n’ Wild SplashTown.
According to a news release, this is the second water park CNL Lifestyle Properties, a real estate investment trust, has re-branded since acquiring the North American rights to the Wet ‘n’ Wild brand in late November. The company re-branded Soak City as Wet ‘n’ Wild Palm Springs in December.
CNL plans millions of dollars in upgrades in Palm Springs, such as the introduction of rides familiar to Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii attendees including FlowRider, a simulated surfing activity; Big Kahuna, a raft ride; and Wet ‘n’ Wild Junior, an eight-slide children’s area. Other upgrades also are planned.
Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii’s other water-park sibling is in Arizona, but CNL owns 16 water parks across the mainland.
Honolulu home market among top movers
Honolulu is on the short list of cities where for-sale homes had the fewest median days on the market in December.
The National Housing Trend Report for December 2013 by Realtor.com showed Oakland, Calif., at No. 1 with a median of 48 days on the market. Stockton-Lodi, Calif., is second with a 56-day median, and Honolulu is third with a median of 64 days on the market. The national median for December was 112 days.
While Honolulu’s housing sales were fast-paced, it was not among the top 10 markets for price increases, according to the Realtor.com study.
Median year-over-year list prices in December went up the most in Stockton-Lodi, Calif., at 47.3 percent; in Detroit, 41.1 percent; in Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif., 29.6 percent; in Las Vegas and nearby communities in Arizona, by 29.3 percent; and in Reno, Nev., by 28.7 percent.
Kuakini to save on energy costs
Officials from Kuakini Medical Center said the facility will save an estimated $1 million a year in energy costs when it completes an energy efficiency project this fall.
The $5.8 million project will include a new central cooling and heating plant, lighting upgrades and an energy management and controls system, according to a news release issued Tuesday.
Massachusetts-based Metrus Energy will pay the upfront costs to construct, maintain and monitor the energy-saving improvements through an efficiency services agreement. Kuakini will pay Metrus for realized energy savings once the project becomes operational. Metrus has partnered with Honolulu-based Energy Industries Corp. for project installation and ongoing maintenance.
IN THE NEWS
Maui technology fund raises $10 million
A Maui-based technology fund for Hawaii early-stage startup companies announced Tuesday that it raised $10 million in its first round of funding.
The mbloom Fund 1 is a public-private partnership with Hawaii State Development Corp. and Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners, an East Coast hedge fund. “We want to keep Hawaii startups here, giving them opportunities to develop, connect and make a mark just like the startups in Silicon Valley,” said mbloom co-founder Arben Kryeziu.
Kryeziu said he and business partner Nick Bicanic created mbloom after “recognizing the need to keep great talent on Maui.” With the fund, Kryeziu and Bicanic plan to provide mentorship, strategies and business networks that nurture and cultivate the success of new Hawaii startups.
ON THE MOVE
Hawaiian Airlines has appointed Robin Sparling to vice president of inflight services. Before joining the company, she served more than 20 years at American Airlines holding various management positions in inflight service, operations, customer service and training and human resources.
The Queen’s Health Systems, corporate parent of the Queen’s Medical Center, has named Kenneth D. Graham acting president of North Hawaii Community Hospital. He previously served as a system integration adviser in the office of Queen’s President and CEO Art Ushijima.
