Savio proceeding with warehouse condominium plan

Local developer Peter Savio has completed a purchase of 128 man-made caves in Central Oahu and is continuing with a previously promoted plan to sell the former military munitions bunkers in Kipapa Gulch between Waikele and Royal Kunia as warehouse condominiums.

Savio said he completed the purchase of the property, which also includes 1.2 million square feet of lot storage space, on Dec. 24 for $15.2 million from Ford Island Ventures LLC, which acquired the property from the Navy.

Since 2005 Savio had rented the bunkers to tenants under a lease with Ford Island through which he christened the property Waikele Storage Park.

Last year Savio marketed the bunkers, most of which are about 4,000 square feet and have no fixed power supply, for sale at $300,000 apiece. However, Savio said dividing the 515-acre property into fee-simple condos will take another 12 to 18 months, so he is selling 99-year leases for the same price with a future option to convert the lease to fee-simple ownership for $1.

Savio said he has about 20 buyers for the long-term leases and about three times as many interested buyers who prefer to wait for the condo conversion.