Fisher Hawaii facing eviction lawsuit

You could call it a dispute that pits parking against paper products in Honolulu.

Kamehameha Schools has sued local office supply company Fisher Hawaii Inc. in an attempt to evict the retailer from its warehouse store in Kakaako.

The charitable trust, which is the biggest private landowner in Hawaii and educates Native Hawaiian children, said it needs the property back for parking as other blocks it owns nearby are redeveloped with midrise and high-rise residences mixed with retail.

Fisher, according to a lawsuit filed in Hawaii District Court on Friday, had a five-year heads-up about the intention by Kamehameha Schools to use the property after a lease to Fisher expired.

"We are disappointed that this matter could not be resolved without taking legal action,"the trust said in a written statement. "Given the lack of sincere commitment from the lessee over the past five years, and to allow us to move forward with completing our Kakaako master plan, we feel that asking the court to return possession and control of this property to Kamehameha Schools is the most responsible course of action to preserve our rights and allow us to move forward with our vision for the vibrant, diverse, livable community Kakaako is becoming."

Fisher representatives did not return calls seeking comment Friday.

Kamehameha Schools said Fisher’s lease for the warehouse at 450 Cooke St. expired in 2009. The two parties executed a five-year extension with the understanding that the trust planned to redevelop the Fisher store site as part of a master plan with seven residential towers and retail on nine blocks in the area.

The extension expired in July, at which time the trust said it informed Fisher that it would need to move out by Jan. 31 at the latest.

Kamehameha Schools said it tried to help Fisher find a place to relocate. Those efforts, according to the trust, included meeting with real estate brokers representing Fisher and searching for and offering Fisher multiple space alternatives in Kapalama and Kakaako that were rejected.

Fisher requested another five-year lease extension in 2013, but Kamehameha Schools said no because of its redevelopment plans, according to a letter included in the suit.

The trust said it made a final offer earlier this month to let Fisher remain through July 31 if the retailer would agree in writing to moving out by that date.

"We need to get the property back so we can move ahead with our master plan,"said trust spokesman Kekoa Paulsen.

Paulsen said parking on the site will be an interim use later replaced by residential development.

The lawsuit seeks court assistance directing sheriff or police officials to remove Fisher from the property, and to recover costs including attorney fees.

Fisher has long been a household Hawaii name in office supplies, from paper products to furniture and business machines.

The company was founded in 1929 as Multigraphy, List & Letter Co., an office equipment and printing firm. In 1933, Geoffrey C. Fisher and Hy Hollaway bought the company and named it Fisher Corp. Subsequent ownership changes included spinning off the printing division, employee ownership in 1966 and acquisition by the Ronald Ho family in 1978.

Fisher made Kakaako its base in the late 1980s with a 50,000-square-foot warehouse, and held its own against national big-box chains Office Depot and Office Max opening nearby. The local company, which is a favorite of many back-to-school shoppers, also has a downtown Honolulu store on Fort Street Mall. In 2013 the company won a retail business of the year award from the Retail Merchants of Hawaii trade association.

Kamehameha Schools published its master plan called Our Kakaako in 2009. Construction is underway on one condominium tower called The Collection on the site of a former CompUSAstore at the corner of South Street and Ala Moana Boulevard. Construction also recently began on a midrise condo that displaced some small businesses on an adjacent property.

Sales of condo units are ongoing for another tower called Keauhou Place on a parking lot at South and Pohukaina streets, though construction has not yet begun. One other tower project called Vida at 888 Ala Moana has been approved and will displace a collection of car dealerships.