KITV-article

August 27, 2013

Police need your help catching Kailua bank robber


Honolulu police are asking for the public's help in finding a suspected bank robber who took money from a Kailua Bank of Hawaii Monday afternoon.
According to police the unknown man entered the bank on Kailua Road around 3:30 p.m. Monday handed a teller a note demanding money and fled the bank on foot after being given an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police say that a weapon was mentioned but not seen.
The man is described as standing 5'2" - 5'6" tall and in his 30's.
He was wearing a black t-shirt, light colored shorts, white visor, blue backpack and sunglasses when he allegedly committed the crime.
If you have any information pertaining to this incident, please call Crimestoppers at 955-8300.
Callers can remain anonymous.

PacificBusinessNews-article

Jul 19, 2013

Improving public education in Hawaii a passion for Kaneohe Ranch CEO Mitch D'Olier

by Duane Shimogawa

Right off the bat, you know that Mitch D’Olier is a leader, especially when he turns the table and starts interviewing you.
That's what happened several times during my recent one-on-one interview with the 67-year-old president and CEO of Kaneohe Ranch Co. LLC and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with D'Olier for a little more than an hour in his office at Castle Junction, tucked away amidst the green shrubbery as you come over the Koolau Mountains into Kailua. Read my story about D'Olier in Friday's print edition of Pacific Business News.
At one point, D'Olier turned the interview around to talk about me going back to school to get a master’s in business administration, which is what his son Justin recently earned through an online format.
His youngest son, Jordan, is a Waianae High School math teacher and D'Olier himself is the Hawaii regional chair of Teach For America.
You see, D’Olier is big on public education. It’s one of his main priorities as the head of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.
And even though all three of his sons graduated from Punahou School, one of the most prestigious private schools in the nation, D’Olier is a product of public schools, via Morgan Park High School in Chicago.
One of his proudest achievements thus far in improving public education in Hawaii is the help the foundation has provided to the state Department of Education during its ongoing Race to the Top program.
Just two years ago, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation committed to provide $10 million in funding to the education department during a four-year period in support of the Race to the Top program.
D’Olier is quick to point out the stellar work of State Schools Superintendent Kathy Matayoshi and her right hand man, Steve Schatz.
In a recent Education Week blog, Hawaii was given high marks for its progress in the Race to the Top initiative, noting that since winning the $75 million grant three years ago, it’s unlikely that the state will need any “no-cost extensions.”
This after being put on “high risk” status in December 2011 for not making adequate progress in most of its program work, Education Week said.
But now, thanks to entities like the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and individuals like D’Olier, the tide is turning.
Even so, D'Olier pointed out that while there’s still much hard work that remains ahead, he’s glad to see some positive national recognition of the work.

KITV-article

July 21, 2013

Suspect charged in connection with house fire near Enchanted Lake

Ozane Alexaner Mosely Jr., 25, charged with first degree arson

KAILUA, Hawaii —Police have arrested and charged a man in connection with a vacant house fire near Enchanted Lake back in May

25-year-old Ozane Alexaner Mosley Jr. of Kapolei has been charged with first degree arson.

Two months ago, fire crews responded to an alarm on Kupau Street, after neighbors heard a loud explosion.  According to state records, Mosley has had several prior convictions including four for auto theft.

KHON2-article

July 17, 2013

Crime prevention in Kailua remains a community effort

By Kristine Uyeno

 

Preventing crime is a joint effort. Many residents in Windward Oahu are taking action so they don’t become a target for thieves following a rash of crimes in that area this summer.
Eyes and ears could be the biggest weapons against crime.
“We have adequate staffing, but we cannot be on every street corner, 24 hours a day,” Honolulu Police Department Lt. Tas McKee said.
Lt. McKee says there are five police officers in the area per shift. He says manpower is not the issue, but it’s about sharing responsibilities with residents.
For example, at Tuesday night’s meeting, 40 people signed up for the Neighborhood Security Watch, which police say marks a huge interest.
“We look to the community to help us out, as far as providing us info that we can act on,” Lt. McKee said.
Police say a tight-knit community acts as a powerful tool in crime prevention. That’s what Cory Mehau also believes and why he helped create the Hono Kailua Facebook page, so residents can spread the word about suspicious activity.
“Now there isn’t a down time, there isn’t a lag time as much in knowing what’s happening next door, down the street. People are willing to share it so everybody are more aware,” Mehau said.
Ever since the crime wave hit Windward Oahu this summer, many residents have been on edge, keeping alarm companies busy.
“The last month, there’s been approximately 25 percent increase in people contacting us,” said Mary Paulson with Security One.
“We’re seeing about a 15 percent to 20 percent increase,” said Roger Savage with Alert Alarm Hawaii.
Representatives from alarm companies say an alarm system would help to protect a home, but they also believe there’s so much more people can do on their own.
“It’s the foliage around your house. You want to make sure you keep it trimmed and clean so that people can actually see what’s going on around your home,” Savage said.
“When you go home and you walk into your house, be aware of what’s going on around you. Someone may be following you,” Paulson said.
They also say you shouldn’t discuss upcoming vacations with anyone. Remove valuables from the master bedroom since many thieves target that part of the house. And remove ladders, tools and gardening equipment from the outside of your home, so you don’t make it easier for criminals to rip you off.
Get to know your neighbors. The person next door could be a criminal or a helpful and watchful eye.

PacificBusinessNews-article

July 16, 2013

D’Olier: Kaneohe Ranch expected to make decision on Kailua property sale within 90 days

by Duane Shimogawa

Kaneohe Ranch Co. LLC and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation are expected to make a decision in the next three months on the potential sale of the Kaneohe Ranch commercial real estate portfolio, according to Mitch D’Olier. He is president and CEO of the two entities that own the properties in question, including the highly coveted Kailua town center in Windward Oahu.
In an exclusive interview with PBN, D’Olier said that nothing has been decided yet. And, if the transaction, which could top $1 billion, doesn’t make sense for the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, a sale won’t happen.
Meanwhile, Randy Moore, a foundation board member, says that the potential sale, first reported by PBN, followed an inquiry about the portfolio from a “financially viable and secure entity.” Moore declined to say if the inquiry came via a local firm.
“The family didn’t shop it, but decided to put it on the market to see what type of money they would get,” Moore told PBN.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Tuesday that sources said the sale of Kaneohe Ranch could fetch up to $600 million, but that D’Olier declined to comment.
Read my wide-ranging interview with D’Olier, who will talk about what’s next for him and what that means for both the foundation and Kaneohe Ranch, in the Friday print edition of Pacific Business News.
Meanwhile, a source close to the situation told PBN that a number of Mainland institutional buyers, including REITs, or real estate investment trusts, from as far away as the East Coast are looking to enter the market and are interested in the portfolio, which includes a number of other Hawaii and Mainland properties.
PBN also confirmed that Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is interested in buying some or all of Kaneohe Ranch’s commercial real estate holdings in Hawaii, which include about 45 acres in Kailua town.
Chris Benjamin, president and chief operating officer of A&B, previously told me that his company is interested in looking at everything.
“As you can tell from what we’ve been doing lately [investing in Hawaii real estate], when we separated from Matson, we said we wanted to rededicate ourselves to Hawaii,” he told PBN in late May.
Other possible suitors include Black Sand Capital, a Honolulu-based real estate investment firm; Honolulu businessman Duane Kurisu; The MacNaughton Group, a Hawaii development company; The Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC), the Dallas-based owner of Ward Centers; General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP), the owner of Ala Moana Center; and even Larry Ellison, who owns 98 percent of Lanai and is CEO of Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL).
In May, PBN obtained a private listing by Eastdil Secured, which marketed the possible acquisition of Kaneohe Ranch’s commercial real estate portfolio as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

StarAdvertiser-article

July 16, 2013

Fatal knifing at park spurs Kailua forums on lawlessness

By Gregg K. Kakesako

 

Kailua residents have planned community meetings to discuss crime after a fatal stabbing Friday at Kailua District Park.

The first of two meetings will be held at the park at 7 p.m. today to discuss recent crime and to restore the Kailua Tract Neighborhood Security Watch program.

Another meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the park to discuss crime prevention, with a Hono­­lulu community policing representative in attendance.

According to a police report, a witness to the Friday morning fatal stabbing at the park tried unsuccessfully to catch the assailant after witnessing the attack.

Brian T. Kim, 58, was charged Saturday with second-degree murder and is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail after being identified in a field lineup and arrested sometime after being chased. The name of the 48-year-old victim still hasn't been released.

Both men were believed to be homeless and had spent the night near the gym and pool area of the park.

The stabbing occurred before 5:20 a.m. and was seen by a witness who went to the nearby police substation near South Kai­­nalu Drive to report the crime. The witness, according to the police report, said he saw the suspect lunge toward the victim and had "appeared to be punching him." The witness quoted the victim as saying, "He stabbed me," the police statement said.

StarAdvertiser-article

July 16, 2013

Sellers anticipate taking in $600 million

Kailua's commercial and retail centers other holdings in Windward Oahu are being offered to select investors

By Kristen Consillio

 

Kaneohe Ranch and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation's holdings of more than 60 properties are expected to sell for as much as $600 million.

The properties on about 600 acres that include most of Kailua's retail center are being offered as one or two packages — splitting the mainland and Hawaii assets — and will likely fetch a combined price in the mid-$500 million to low-$600 million range, according to a source close to the deal who asked not to be identified.

Assets listed in a confidentiality agreement obtained Monday by the Star-Advertiser include 52 Kailua, Kaneohe and townside properties as well as nine mainland holdings.

The real estate includes shopping centers, land leased to businesses and the 38-acre retail center of Kailua. The properties are being offered to select investors by the brokerage firm Eastdil Secured.

Kailua residents and business owners are concerned about the future of the small beach town, which has remained relatively free of large-scale development.

Kaneohe Ranch has "pretty much tried to keep Kailua Kailua, like what it was before," said Rusty Niau, 59, who was raised in the area and has lived there for about 40 years. "If they sell it, who knows what will happen. Is Kailua going to turn into another Waikiki?"

Others fear that a new owner might not be as friendly to many of the small businesses scattered throughout Kailua's commercial center.

"I'm scared if it's a mainland company coming in," said 63-year-old Jack Aaron, president of Aaron's Dive Shops, which has leased space from Kaneohe Ranch for about 35 years. "The one thing about Kaneohe Ranch is they definitely employ local people, and they seem to really care about the tenants and the properties they manage. Will new management be going to want to raise rents a lot and change the way things are? The fear with new people is if they're all from the mainland, then you're going to have that mainland mentality."

Mitch D'Olier, president and chief executive officer of Kaneohe Ranch Management Ltd., wouldn't comment Monday beyond an earlier statement that said a transaction would not affect efforts of the Castle Foundation — Hawaii's largest locally based private foundation — which "will continue to play a key role in the community."

Kaneohe Ranch, which produced a long-range plan for Kailua in 2004 based on extensive community input, has invested more than $35 million in improvements that included new shops and restaurants in recent years while trying to maintain Kailua's character. Some are worried that a new owner might have its own vision for the town.

"Whoever the landlord is, it's important that they keep in mind the desires of the community residents as well as the necessity to have a thriving business community and to create a balance that kind of maintains a harmony in town," said Bob Twogood, who has run Twogood Kayak Hawaii Inc. for 32 years in Kailua.

Todd Di Antonio, a small-business owner who has lived in Kailua for more than 15 years, added, "Kailua is its own special little market on this side of the island as far as businesses go, and we tend to stay in this part of the island. We're kind of self-contained to a certain extent. I've got concerns if for some reason it was a foreign entity. Hopefully they're not going to sell to somebody of a foreign influence that wouldn't be good for the community."

A new owner may have an opportunity to redevelop much of Kailua's commercial core because several land leases are set to expire within the decade.

"We don't want to change the character of Kailua," Niau said. "We'd like to keep Kailua as much country as we can. It is a unique town. That's part of the beauty. At any point in Kailua you can look up and see blue skies. I don't want to be stifled or closed in by high-rises."

 

UP FOR SALE
The properties Kaneohe Ranch and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation are putting up for sale:

KANEOHE RANCH PORTFOLIO ASSETS

Kailua properties
Kailua Town Center III
First Hawaiian Bank
Kailua Shopping Center
Kailua Foodland Marketplace
Straub Building
Hahani Plaza
789 Kailua Road Davis Building
776 Kailua Road
Kalapawai Cafe & Deli
Hekili Business Center
171 Hamakua Drive
156 Hamakua Drive
134 Hamakua Drive
160 Hamakua Drive
380 Hahani parking lot
Windward Town & Country I & II
Kailua Post Office
McKenna Hamakua Drive
Kanoa Estate
167 Hamakua Drive
150 Hamakua Drive
Midas
McKenna Windward Ford & Wheels 4 Less
Napa Auto Parts
Kailua Beach Center
Pali Palms Plaza and Pinky’s
Koolau Farmers Garden Center
Agricultural land
Sprint PCS Tower
Triangle parcel

Kaneohe properties
Windward City Shopping Center
Kalaheo Hillside
Telecom Licenses
Hawaiian Telecom

Honolulu properties
Kaimuki Shopping Center
Servco Honolulu
Tesoro Honolulu

Mainland properties
FBI Building in Mobile, Ala.
Nob Hills Foods in Mountain View, Calif.
Kohl's in Phoenix Red Sunset Apartments in Gresham, Ore.
Lowe’s San Jose in San Jose, Calif.
Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay in Miami
2000 M Street, NW in Washington, D.C.
One Bellevue Center in Bellevue, Wash.
Stanford Corporate Center & Telos Health Club in Dallas

CASTLE FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO ASSETS

Kailua properties
Kailua Town Center
151 Hekili St.
Kailua Village Shops
143 Hekili St.
Merchant’s Row
146 Hekili St.
Macy’s
Pali Lanes Bowling Center
HIC Surf
Macy’s parking lot
Aikahi Park Shopping Center
7 Eleven Shopping Center
Former Tesoro Kailua

Kaneohe properties
Servco Windward Toyota

StarAdvertiser-article

June 16, 2013

Target eyes Maui site for fifth isle store

The retailer could be a key tenant of the Puunene Shopping Center in two years

by Andrew Gomes

Target Corp. has committed to opening its fifth store in Hawaii and its first on Maui as the anchor of a planned shopping center in Central Maui near a collection of other big-box stores including Walmart and Kmart.

A 135,500-square-foot Target could open in 2014 if the project called Puunene Shopping Center is realized.

The shopping center is planned by Property Development Centers, the real estate development arm of Safeway.

Property Development Centers is working on a deal to buy 24 acres of land for the project from major Maui landowner Alexander & Baldwin Inc.  A&B, as a policy, generally does no comment on or confirm land sales until they are under binding contracts or completed.

The developer, however, is actively seeking tenants to lease the balance of the center, which is designed with 273,480 square feet divided for roughly 20 retailers and restaurants.

Commercial real estate brokerage firm CBRE was soliciting interest in the center Thursday at the annual Hawaii conference of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

According to a site plan, it doesn't appear that Safeway intends to build a store at the project.  The supermarket chain already has stores nearby in Kahului and Kihei.  There also is a Safeway in Lahaina, and the company is building a store in Wailuku scheduled to open next year.

Grant Howe, a commercial real estate broker on Maui not involved in the Puunene Shopping Center project, said the plan appears to be a solid one that will give Target a long-sought presence on the Valley Isle in the growing Central Maui area.

"It's a good location with synergy to the major big-box retailers on Maui," he said.  "Target will be a good addition to our market."

The project site is adjacent to Home Depot and Walmart, and is not far from Kmart, Costco, Sports Authority and Lowes's.  A&B is asking $64 million for the land.

Safeway and Property Development Centers, which is formed in 2008, is an experienced retail developer in Hawaii.  Most, but not all, shopping centers developed by the company nationwide feature a Safeway store.

Safeway's first project in the state was Piilani Village Shopping Center in Kihei, Maui, in the late 1990s.

That was followed in 2007 with the Safeway-anchored Avenue Shops in Kapahulu on Oahu.

Safeway teamed up with Target to develop adjacent stores in Hilo that opened last year.  Safeway also developed a retail complex and store in Makiki least year that replaced the company's first Hawaii store built more than 40 years ago.

Property Development Centers has at least three projects pending in addition to the Puunene project: one in Ewa Beach that is under construction; and one on Kauai nearing construction; and one in Kapolei, where the company has a contract to buy 11 acres near a Target store.

HawaiiNewsNow-article

June 16, 2013

Kailua residents of burglarized home go online to fight a rise in crime
By Ben Gutierrez

KAILUA, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
Sometime on Saturday afternoon, burglars broke into a home in the Olomana subdivision of Kailua. The homeowners said the break-in is not an isolated case. And it also spurred them to take action that they hope will spread.
The home is similar to others along Uluhao Street, where nearly al the houses have unfenced front yards and open carports. The homeowners had left at about 2 p.m. Saturday.
"My next-door neighbor probably came home about three o'clock, and he was out there in the yard for a while and he said he hadn't noticed anything by the time he came home. And when we came home at six, it had happened," said Cory Mehau.
"It didn't even dawn on me until I walked into the house, and the first thing I look at was at the top of my television that sits up high, and our Wii was gone," said Mehau's wife, Jennifer. "And it was only then that I realized that we had been broken into."
The break-in came after the Mehaus had had conversations with their business clients about how petty crime is on the rise -- not just in Olomana, but all over Kailua town.
"Everyone's saying, yeah, we gotta do something in Kailua because it's not the place that five and ten years ago that we all wanted to bring our kids back to," said resident Kulia Petzholdt.
"If you spoke to five people in Kailua, four of them would have a story to tell, like they told me today, about some type of home invasion, their business getting broken into, their car getting broken into," said Jennifer Mehau.
Cory Mehau said the increase in crime has come while Kailua has been in the news for other reasons, including the possible sale of Kaneohe Ranch land in Kailua town and the building of a new Target store. "Vacation rentals. Kayaking on the beaches. All these kinds of things are big issues, but behind the scenes, it's all the break-ins, the home invasions."
The break-in at her own home pushed Jennifer Mehau to launch a new Facebook page, Hono Kailua, or Repair Kailua. She said it's about the safety of her town, an online place where residents can exchange ideas and keep an eye out for each other.
"We'd like to look at it more as encouraging safety by signing up on our page, by getting to know your neighbor," she said.
Cory Mehau also had a message for the burglars who broke into their home. "You've seen fit to make the decision to offend my family. And that's wrong."

HawaiiNewsNow-article

May 17, 2013

Castle family properties in Kailua could be up for sale

By Ben Gutierrez

KAILUA, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
After more than a century of ownership by the Castle Family, Kailua's 38-acre town center could be up for sale, along with other commercial properties in Kaneohe and Honolulu.
The sale of those properties could reportedly bring in as much as $1 billion for the Castle Foundation.
Over the last decade, Kaneohe Ranch, which manages the land, has spent millions of dollars on improvements in Kailua, which has attracted new tenants such as Whole Foods and Pier 1. It has also sold property for a new Target store.
A real estate expert said it would be attractive to a possible buyer. "Kaneohe ranch has done a fabulous development of the property," said Stephany Sofos. "They took property that was down and not in good shape and they made it the highest and best use. Now by selling it, the beneficiaries of Kaneohe Ranch will reap the benefits of this."
Kaneohe Ranch president and CEO Mitch D'Olier would not confirm that the properties have been put up for sale. But in a printed statement, he said the company is considering alternatives.
"These options include selling some or all of the owners' real estate holdings in Hawaii and elsewhere, or retaining ownership of some or all of the real estate. No decision has been made concerning whether any of these holdings will be sold," D'Olier's statement said.
A source indicated that it would still be a few months before any deals would become public.