CivilBeat-article

May 26, 2015

Kailua Neighbors Rally Together To Save Beloved

Homeless Man

By JAMES CAVE

The "Mango Man" was in need of health care and other assistance, so concerned residents stepped in.

For decades, a homeless person affectionately nicknamed the Mango Man has been a fixture in the beachside neighborhood of Kailua, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

With waist-length dreadlocks, Mango Man — whose real name is John Cruz — is reliably seen around town with his walker (he was hit by a car a few years ago) or sleeping under mango trees (hence his nickname). He is said to be in his late 60s and to have served in the Vietnam War.

He doesn’t ask for money or help, but rather sits quietly and watchfully in the neighborhood, sort of like a living landmark.

According to Daniela Stolfi-Tow, an administrator for the “I Love Kailua” Facebook page, seeing Cruz is an important part of coming to the neighborhood.

“You go from the airport, come home, get yourself your favorite plate lunch, and then you go see Mango Man,” she told The Huffington Post. “You’re so relieved to see him.”

But in April, when a group of residents went to surprise Cruz with a new walker, they found him in need of immediate health care.

According to KITV-4, the residents sought help from Chad Koyanagi, a doctor at the Waikiki Health Center, who organized with the Honolulu Police and Fire Departments, as well as EMS and the residents, to retrieve Cruz and take him to a hospital for treatment.

Because of his condition, which residents wouldn’t disclose to protect Cruz’s privacy, Cruz was placed in intensive care and is expected to stay in the hospital for a while.

Stolfi-Tow said his presence is missed. “It feels like the energy was just sucked out of the place,” she said.

A few other community members installed a sign for Cruz near a bus stop. “It’s to say, ‘We’re holding your spot when you’re ready to come back,’” Stolfi-Tow said.

Why does the community love Cruz so much?

According to stories posted on the “I Love Kailua” community page on Facebook, many people experienced Cruz offering advice to those in need or protecting young people in Kailua.

Former Kailua resident DeeDee Gualdarama-Leong shared this story on the page:

“10th grade. I was talking to a friend and was not looking and [Cruz] grabbed me before a car came and banged the bus stop. Then 11th grade. Some grunts was harassing me, he told them to get the f*** away from his kids. 12th grade I was crying at the bus stop and he told me life is what u make out of it so think about it before u do bad, the Lord would not like that. I stopped crying and hugged him. I still go by that saying to this day.. thank u Lord for putting John in my life. I am truly blessed to call John my angel.”

In addition to a guardian angel, Stolfi-Tow has come to think of Cruz as a centurion for the community because of his military service and his tendency to wear fatigues.

After serving in Vietnam, she told HuffPost, “he took up another post here … He took his post and stood there day in and day out. He watched over everybody in his fatigues all day long. I realized that he was our guard. He watched over us.”

This story was originally published on HuffPost Hawaii.

http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/05/kailua-neighbors-rally-together-to-save-beloved-homeless-man/?cbk=5564a55fdb7d7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=hawaii&utm_content

PacificBusinessNews-article

May 15, 2015

Alexander & Baldwin's Kailua Town portfolio attracts interest from tenants

By Duane Shimogawa

Alexander & Baldwin Inc.’s Kailua Town commercial real estate portfolio, which it acquired from Kaneohe Ranch and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation in 2013, has been attracting interest from tenants wanting to lease space in the Windward Oahu town.

Jon Moyer, A&B's director of asset management in Kailua, sat down with PBN at the firm’s office on Hekili Street above Boots and Kimo’s Homestyle Kitchen to talk about the town's commercial core.

“Demand for space is high,” he said. “We aren’t focused on financial returns on the short term. We are here for the long term.”

Occupancy in the approximately 180-tenant portfolio is in the mid to high 90 percent range and is consistent with other parts of Oahu, Moyer said, noting that the occupancy level has been about the same since it acquired the portfolio less than two years ago.

“We are focused on local tenants, but it’s really about enhancing the shoppers’ experience in Kailua,” he said. “That’s what people come to Kailua for — the unique and amazing things you can’t find anywhere else.”

He pointed out that the national tenants, such as California Pizza Kitchen and Whole Foods Market, do play a role in the portfolio, and that there could be more national tenants, although last year its new leases were only with local tenants, including Grylt, Paniolos Hawaii, Twin Islands and Aloha Sunday Supply.

“Preserving the character of the town is important,” Moyer said. “That’s why tenant mix is important. The unique local tenants are very important.”

As tenant occupancy rises, so do rents.

“The great thing about tenants in Kailua is that they do good,” Moyer said. “[Market] rents have gone up on Oahu across the board and that’s consistent with Kailua. Couple that with demand for space and you do have an environment where market rents have increased for vacancies and available space.”

Moyer said A&B selects tenants on a case-by-case basis.

“We consider where they’ll go and how they will be complementary to tenants and enhance the shopping experience,” he said. “We do consider the tenants’ ability to do well and thrive in Kailua town.”

A&B paid $373 million for the Kaneohe Ranch/Harold K.L. Castle Foundation portfolio. It included 386,000 square feet of grocery- and drug store-anchored shopping centers, retail strip centers, light industrial properties, and more than 50 acres of retail and other commercial centers that are ground-leased to third parties located primarily in Kailua and other parts of Windward Oahu and in Honolulu.

“It was a great move for A&B,” said Moyer, who was part of the transaction side of the deal and now has transitioned to the asset management side. “We are a 140-year-old company. We are here for the long term. We are going to take our time.”

PacificBusinessNews-article

May 12, 2015

Alexander & Baldwin closes on Safeway-anchored Aikahi Shopping Center

By Duane Shimogawa

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has closed on its purchase of the Safeway-anchored Aikahi Park Shopping Center in Kailua in Windward Oahu, a company executive confirmed to PBN.

The deal, which had been targeted to be finalized in March, closed on May 1.

“It’s consistent with most properties where there was a ground lease that was going to expire in the short term, that there’s noticeable cosmetic needs, deferred maintenance,” Jon Moyer, director of asset management for A&B’s Kailua commercial portfolio, told PBN. “We will be focusing on those, but first and foremost, we will be focusing on the fire on the day we closed on the property. Luckily, no people or pets were hurt.”

The eight-acre property at 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive near Marine Corps Base Hawaii includes a 102,000-square-foot Safeway store, as well as Navy Federal Credit Union, Gyotaku Japanese Restaurant, L&L Drive Inn, Burger King, Tamura’s and Chevron.

The center has more than 20 tenants.

“We are not in acquisition mode, and not evaluating any acquisitions in Kailua,” Moyer said. “You never know what opportunities come around. When opportunities arise, we generally take a look.”

The A&B Kailua commercial portfolio, which was acquired in 2013 from Kaneohe Ranch and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, has approximately 180 tenants, many of them local businesses.

“We have done a good job of listening to the community, working closely with our tenants, and reinforcing that we are here for the long term,” Moyer said. “It wasn’t going to be easy to turn it upside down. We have done a good job going slow, taking time, and being patient. That’s what we are doing.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2015/05/12/alexander-baldwin-closes-on-safeway-anchored.html

PacificBusinessNews-article

April 30, 2015

Alexander & Baldwin buying Safeway-anchored Kailua retail center property

By Duane Shimogawa

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is buying the ground lease interest in the Safeway-anchored Aikahi Park Shopping Center in Kailua in Windward Oahu, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu-based company confirmed to PBN this week.

The deal, which had been targeted to close in March, had not been completed as of Thursday.

In its most recent earnings call, Chris Benjamin, president and chief operating officer of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE: ALEX), said that it was finalizing an agreement to acquire an eight-acre property in its Kailua portfolio, which was purchased in late 2013 from Kaneohe Ranch and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.

The property, which is located at 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive near Marine Corps Base Hawaii, includes a 102,000-square-foot Safeway store, as well as Navy Federal Credit Union, Gyotaku Japanese Restaurant, L&L Drive Inn, Burger King, Tamura’s and Chevron.

In total, Aikahi Park Shopping Center has more than 20 tenants.

“The opportunity to acquire the ground lease interest in this property arose following a rent reset,” Benjamin said in the earnings call. “The property would be acquired nine years prior to the lease termination date thereby accelerating the financial benefits associated with the ownership of the improvements and allowing us to directly manage the center for long-term success.”