A nearly 90-year-old former newspaper headquarters building in Honolulu is getting a face-lift.

Work recently began to fix up the exterior of the historic News Building at the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and South Street in Kakaako.

The enhancements, which include changing out windows and fixing decorative plaster features, are being done by Hawaiian Dredging &Construction Co. in connection with its work as the general contractor for two condominium towers on what used to be part of the News Building property.

Local development firm Downtown Capital LLC, led by Marshall Hung, is the developer of the towers known as 801 South St. The first tower was completed last year, and the second tower is slated to be finished later this year.

A third phase of the project would convey most of the old News Building to Hawaiian Dredging for use as its headquarters if a tentative sales agreement is finalized. Part of the old News Building was demolished to make room for a parking garage for the second tower.

Eric Hashizume, a Hawaiian Dredging vice president, said the exterior work needed to be done regardless of whether the sale is completed. Interior renovation work is expected to follow. A complete renovation is expected to take until the middle of 2017 to finish, he said.

The News Building, with its red-tile roof and Renaissance Revival architecture, was built in 1929 for the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, which later became The Honolulu Advertiser. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin also was based in the building for many years. In 2010 Oahu Publications Inc. combined the two newspapers into the Honolulu Star-Advertiser based at Waterfront Plaza, and Downtown Capital bought the 3.7-acre News Building property in 2012 for $22 million from former Advertiser owner Gannett Co.