Bank of Hawaii sells Kapahulu site

Bank of Hawaii has sold the site of its former branch at 727 Kapahulu Ave. for $4.53 million to a Hono­lulu-based investment firm that focuses on real estate and private equity opportunities.

Tradewind Capital Group, which closed the deal on Dec. 18, said it plans to begin marketing the property next week.

“We see the property as a long-term core asset,” Kent Walther, vice president of real estate for Tradewind, said Tuesday. “We expect to lease it out to a commercial tenant but we have not yet determined who that will be. We’ll be exploring a large variety of retail and service tenants. We plan to actively market the property next week — hopefully.”

The state’s second-largest bank began marketing the 13,568-square-foot parcel — which included the 5,434-square foot branch — on Sept. 20 and received interest from 45 to 50 groups within the first few weeks, according to Mike Taylor, the bank’s senior vice president of real estate.

“Given the location, the quality of the existing improvements and the lack of fee-simple supply along the Kapahulu corridor, we anticipated significant demand for this asset from the onset,” Taylor said. “A number of them were mainland and Asian buyers but the vast majority were local owner/users and investor groups from here in Hawaii.”

Bank of Hawaii declined to disclose the identity or purchase price at the request of the buyer, but the information was obtained through the state’s business registration website and confirmed by the purchaser.

“The building itself was well maintained by the former owner and it’s structurally solid,” Walther said. “We’re not going to do anything to the building itself. We’re going to look for a commercial tenant to occupy it. We haven’t contemplated any additional development on the parcel. We need all the parking stalls.”

Tradewind Capital Group includes founder and Director Franklin Tokioka, founder and Chairman Colbert Matsumoto, President Richard Lim, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Scott Kuioka and Walther.

Among the company’s real estate holdings, is the former Sprint building at 925 Dillingham Blvd. that is being leased to the City and County of Honolulu. It also is an investor-partner in the 801 South St. condo towers, and has a portfolio of multifamily and mixed-use properties in Seattle’s urban core.

David Asakura and Sean Tadaki of Honolulu-based Commercial Asset Advisors LLC were the brokers.

The 55-year-old branch, which opened on July 7, 1960, closed on Oct. 30 due to declining traffic as customers migrated to newer branches in the area, including the Safeway in-store branch a two-minute walk away at 888 Kapahulu Ave.

Bank of Hawaii, which has 65 branches statewide, has found increasing success with its 17 in-store branches, particularly the one in the Safeway store on Kapahulu Avenue. In-store branches typically have longer hours and are open on weekends. Customers’ accounts at the 727 Kapahulu Ave. branch were moved to the Kaimuki branch at 3600 Waialae Ave.

The bank donated a five-piece mural by artist Isami Enomoto that was hanging in the branch to the local nonprofit organization Docomomo, whose mission is to advance the understanding, preservation and documentation of the modern movement in Hawaii in the areas of urban planning, architecture, architectural interiors, landscapes and public art.

The mural is valued at $50,000, and Docomomo plans to break it up and house the pieces at different locations throughout Oahu.