UH Foundation looks to buy Atherton YMCA

The University of Hawaii Foundation is negotiating with the YMCA of Honolulu to purchase the Atherton YMCA across from the UH-Manoa campus.

Michael Broderick, YMCA president and CEO, confirmed the negotiations and said in a statement Friday that the nonprofit would release details on the proposed deal later. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises money for the UH system.

There are 53 apartments with 80 beds for UH students at the Atherton Y. Most of those units are in the Charles Atherton House, a three-story building built in 1932, which also has retail space with outdoor seating. Over the years that space has housed Burger King, Yogurtland and I Love Yogurt stores. A few apartments are in an adjacent building, named after Mary Atherton Richards, which was built in 1959 and also houses a fitness center and the Coffeeline Campus Coffeehouse.

The city, for property tax purposes, values the Atherton Y property at over $10 million — $7.8 million for the land and $2.6 million for the buildings.

The nonprofit YMCA announced in 2014 its intent to divest itself of its Atherton branch, at the corner of University Avenue and Metcalf Street, by offering to sell or lease the two historic Manoa residence halls.

In May 2015 the UH Board of Regents discussed the possible acquisition of the Atherton Y, which would result in the property being transferred to UH-Manoa Student Housing Services, with an arrangement for UH to pay for the transaction over time, according to regents’ meeting minutes. UH President David Lassner notified the regents at a January meeting of a signed letter of intent for a lease agreement between UH and the foundation.

A UH spokesman said the regents won’t comment until a deal is finalized. A UH Foundation spokeswoman didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday.

Commercial real estate brokerage firm Colliers International began marketing the property without an asking price, and has said that a new owner could renovate the student housing or convert the two buildings on an acre for other use such as senior housing or condominiums.

Meanwhile, the YMCA is trying to sell most of its aging Central YMCA property on Atkinson Boulevard to pay for a new but smaller facility. The nonprofit arranged to sell 1.5 acres of its 1.8-acre Central Y property to a developer that sought a zoning change to build a 350-foot condo tower. But the developer, San Francisco-based MB Property Acquisitions, missed a key deadline at the end of April to come up with funding to purchase the Central Y property. It is unclear whether plans for the 128-unit Aloha Kai tower are in jeopardy.

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Star-Advertiser reporter Nanea Kalani contributed to this report.