Ko Olina Resort Poised to Nearly Double in Size Through Proposed 514-acre Kapolei West Annexation

ko olina resort development land purchase and expansion

ko olina resort development land purchase and expansion

View of Lagoons 1 and 2 adjacent Four Seasons, Disney Aulani and Beach Villas at Ko'Olina (Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii)

When it comes to Ko'Olina Resort development plans and project updates in Kapolei on West Oahu, typically rumors and speculation long precede any formal announcement. However, this time around there was little room for that with the announcement and subsequent Honolulu Star Advertiser article (linked below), quoting master Ko'Olina developer, Jeff Stone, stating that the 514 acres of land between Ko'Olina and the Kapolei Commons shopping center would potentially be annexed into the 642-acre oceanfront resort.

The 514 acres was recently purchased from James Campbell Co. by China Oceanwide Holdings, Ltd. for a reported $103 million. China Oceanwide also acquired two oceanfront parcels in the Ko'Olina Resort on either side of the Beach Villas at Ko'Olina, with one parcel in between Disney Aulani and Beach Villas at Ko'Olina, with both Lagoon 1 and Lagoon 2 access points, and the other parcel situated between Beach Villas at Ko'Olina at Lagoon 2 and Marriott's Ko'Olina Beach Club, at Lagoon 3, with future access to these two lagoons. It is expected that approximately $3 billion would be invested in developing these two separate oceanfront locations. 

Click HERE to download and read the full article from the Honolulu Star Advertiser about Jeff Stone's announcement related to the possible Ko'Olina Resort expansion in coming years. 

If this annexation plan becomes a reality the Ko'Olina Resort would nearly double in size to 1,156 acres, and would add up to 2,500 resort residences as well as a second golf course. This expanded resort boundary could go as far as Target and the Regal Kapolei Commons Theaters in Kapolei. The 514-acre area is fittingly being called "Kapolei West" and would serve to link the existing Ko'Olina Resort, somewhat separate and distinct from central Kapolei, to the heart of the city and provide other access points to both Farrington Highway as well as Campbell Industrial Park through the additional road connections envisioned to be a part of these new phases of development.

Despite ongoing criticism over the years, both in print and online, aimed at Oahu's "Second City" of Kapolei, for its alleged lack of Second-City-ness, this burgeoning region continues to unveil surprises and unexpected announcements, each helping to bring the city one step closer to ultimately realizing that ideal. The Ka Makana Ali'i Mall had it's grand opening in Kapolei Oct. 21, 2016 and is now recognized as the third largest shopping center in the Hawaiian Islands.

Kapolei Lofts have added significantly to the housing inventory in central Kapolei. C.S. Wo & Sons opened a 60,000 square foot retail location in October 2016, home to HomeWorld, SlumberWorld, Red Knot and Ashley Homestore. 24-Hour Fitness has built a large facility next to the new mall, as have Hampton Inn & Suites, by Hilton. Embassy Suites Kapolei, also by Hilton, is under construction as of November 2016, next to Kapolei Lofts. Entertainment has come to Kapolei in an even bigger way in 2016 with the grand opening of the Regal 12 Kapolei Commons theater as well as Consolidated Theaters' Olino entertainment complex as part of the Ka Makana Alii mall project. I could go on and on as this doesn't even include the many restaurants and shops added to the Kapolei area and the Ko'Olina Resort in 2016 alone. Not to mention the rail transit hub, UH West Oahu and so much more!

I think it is safe to say at this point: "The Second City, it is here…and it is only going to continue to grow!"

Click HERE to download and read the full article from the Honolulu Star Advertiser about Jeff Stone's announcement related to the possible Ko'Olina Resort expansion in coming years. 

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Munro Murdock is an Entrepreneur, Athlete, Real Estate Broker, Blogger, Father, Author, World Traveler and Podcaster. He resides on West Oahu in Hawaii with his wife and three children. You can Contact Munro by email here.

Ko’Olina Resort to Welcome Two New Luxury Hotel Resorts by 2018

The article below was published in the Star Advertiser newspaper. This is long-awaited news for owners and residents in the Ko'Olina Resort, as well as those who have been keeping up with the growth in Ko'Olina in recent years. 

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View across Lagoon 2 towards the Beach Villas at Ko'Olina and the subject parcel(s)

 

2 more hotels planned for Ko Olina

by Allison Schaefers

December 18, 2015

A Chinese corporation closed on two Ko Olina Resort beachfront parcels Thursday and plans to make a $1 billion investment, including the construction of two new uber-luxury branded resorts.

China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. paid $200 million to purchase the 1 million-square-foot fee-simple property, said Jeffrey R. Stone, founder and master developer of The Resort Group, Hawaii’s largest landowner of master-planned resort communities. Stone said the company plans to build two new hotels, which will add 400 traditional hotel rooms and 400 residences to Ko Olina Resort. Stone said hotel branding will be announced before midyear, with construction expected to start by the end of 2016 and a target opening of 2018.

In addition to bringing Ko Olina nearer to the conclusion of what’s been about a 20-year build-out for Stone, the investment is expected to attract more of China’s coveted high-end visitors and bolster further Chinese investment in Hawaii. The purchase is expected to play a major role in increasing the emerging China market, which was forecast to bring only just over 185,000 visitors to Hawaii next year.

“By far and away this is the largest Hawaii hotel investment from a Chinese investor. Nothing compares to this,” said Joseph Toy, president and CEO of hotel consultancy Hospitality Advisors LLC. “We’ve seen that level of investment on the mainland, but never in Hawaii before.”

And what’s even better is that the investment will bring two new luxury hotels to Oahu, where Toy said only about 1,450 of about 28,000 hotel and condo rentals can be counted among the highest tier. The significant increase in top hotel rooms is expected to attract more higher-yield visitors, whose spending keeps tourism growing regardless of capacity caps.

George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said further development at Ko Olina is welcome news for Oahu’s visitor industry, which has been grappling for some time with hotel room compression in Waikiki and has needed more top-tier rooms.

“These new luxury hotels at Ko Olina will help alleviate concerns that westbound, and especially international, travelers have about securing first-class accommodations, while expanding their range of offerings to choose from,” Szigeti said. “Keeping travelers excited about coming to Hawaii means our industry needs to continually evolve to satisfy their expectations. These new hotels help us to meet that reality and, ultimately, our entire visitor industry stands to benefit.”

Stone said Ko Olina’s partnership with China Oceanwide along with the May 27, 2016, opening of the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina and the August 2011 opening of the Aulani, a Disney Resort &Spa in Ko Olina, together play a pivotal role in attracting more of the world’s most admired hotel and leisure brands to Oahu.

“China Oceanwide has deep expertise in real estate development. The Ko Olina acquisition complements our global investment strategy very nicely, and will greatly enhance our international development portfolio,” said Lu Zhiqiang, China Oceanwide chairman.“We look forward to our partnership with Ko Olina and the Hawaii community.”

Stone, founder of The Resort Group, said its long-term strategy is to position Ko Olina as a premier mixed-use destination offering a sophisticated mix of upscale hotels, branded private residences, vacation clubs and recreational and leisure amenities with international appeal.

“China Oceanwide will bring development of our master plan to 75 percent,” Stone said. “We only have two parcels in the resort remaining. There’s the marina resort site at Lagoon Four, and then there’s the grand Ko Olina site that’s next to Disney.”

At full build-out, Stone said total investment in Ko Olina is expected to exceed $15 billion, with a yearly generator of $1.4 billion a year to the state. All the projects together will have created more than 35,000 construction jobs and some 14,400 permanent jobs, he said.

(article content above is from Honolulu Star Advertiser newspaper)

Additional content available in the following articles:

Pacific Business News (Dec. 18, 2015) http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2015/12/18/chinese-developer-to-build-two-towers-at-ko-olina.html

Commentary:

We can now wait with anticipation for more updates about these new developments and hope that the end result will be to make Ko'Olina an even more desirable Hawaii resort destination than it was before. 

I am of the opinion that as the resort matures in its development the values of real estate will strengthen as prospective buyers will have less and less uncertainty in their minds around what will be coming in the future and whether or not what comes will be a good thing or a bad thing for them. 

To the credit of Jeff Stone and the others involved in the implementation and execution of Ko'Olina's master plan, high standards have been set for any new entry into the resort and the caliber of resorts and investment partners has proven to be very high. The news is not all that surprising given the active project underway by Four Seasons Ko'Olina. With Marriott, Disney, Four Seasons, and now this luxury holdings group from China involved, Ko'Olina is truly poised to be recognized as one of Hawaii's most desirable resort destinations for families from around the world.

While construction of new projects like these bring noise, dust and unsightly cranes to the resort, the end result is an enhanced resort experience, a more complete master plan and a clearer understanding of just what Ko'Olina is; what it is shaping up to be. 

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Munro Murdock is an Entrepreneur, Athlete, Real Estate Broker, Blogger, Father, Author, World Traveler and Podcaster. He resides on West Oahu in Hawaii with his wife and three children. You can Contact Munro by email here.

5 Reasons Why You Should Buy…Now

There are at least a dozen sound reasons why you should buy Oahu real estate now, but I’ll keep it simple and share five with you. You are smart and can think up another seven on your own. We are in the midst of one of the strongest economic expansions in Hawaii’s history!

Tourism is surpassing pre-recession levels, real estate valuations are increasing rapidly and consumer confidence is high relative to years gone by.

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View from the Kakaako Amphitheater during the 2013 Mayjah Rayjah Music Festival

On the morning of October 16 I attended a presentation by a respected local economist, Paul Brewbaker of TZ Economics. He said that if the current pace of Oahu real estate growth is sustained until 2017 the length of the cycle will rival that of the Reagan expansion period; if it continues into 2019 it will be the longest economic expansion in U.S. history!

This is where you pause, read it again and say, “Wow!”.
Then you ask yourself, “What am I going to do about it?”.

What I recommend you do about it is buy Oahu real estate…now.
The longer you wait, the more likely you are to regret it.

Let me briefly share one of my regrets about Hawaii real estate. I was finishing up my business degree in early 2003, had been married for one year and had a baby boy who was 6-months old. We we had little money, but had BIG dreams for our future.

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Me and my wife Rachel after my graduation ceremony (July 2003)

We would look at real estate for fun. We loved the new homes being built in Mililani Mauka. It was a great location, a family-friendly community and we felt it would be a good place to own long-term. The problem was that the homes were a whopping $400,000! We didn’t have that kind of money and couldn’t quite grasp how families could afford to buy something that “expensive”.

Had we figured out a way to make it work, in less than 10 years our home of choice would have nearly doubled in value to the $760k-$790k range they are selling for now. We definitely regret not making it happen ten years ago when we had the chance.

Without further ado, here are five reasons why I recommend you buy…now.

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This Mililani Mauka home sold for $789,000 on June 28, 2013 (Purchased new for $441,850 in 2003)

1. Prices are expected to continue to rise

Oahu real estate prices show no signs of slowing. With only a few months of available inventory (properties for sale) and demand through the roof, values are being driven up month after month. The longer you wait the more you should be prepared to pay.

Yes, there is definitely some buyer frenzy going on, and for good reason.

2. Interest rates are good

While not as low as they were earlier in the year, at 4.25% or less for a 30-year fixed mortgage, there are still great deals to be had on financing.

Current rates are updated frequently by the Honolulu Board of Realtors (HBR).

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Heavy equipment in Kapolei for extension of Kapolei Parkway road near Foodland towards Costco

3. Raw land is limited

No explanation needed here. Barring some unexpected volcanic eruption on Oahu we have a finite amount of land that can be developed. The appeal of oceanfront lots, for example, is illustrative of this. There are only so many and prices are driven by supply and demand.

4. New construction is not happening

There is the illusion of adequate new construction to supply the housing needs for Oahu residents and investors alike. However, that is simply not the case. Brewbaker pointed out that home-building on Oahu over the past 10-15 years was one-third of what it was during the Great Depression years of the 1930′s. Wow.

The last time so few homes were being built on Oahu was during World War II (1939-1945). There is simply not enough new construction going on to keep up with the growing demand. This market dynamic naturally pushes prices up even higher.

While there may be a lot of planned developments, that is no guarantee that they will ever come to fruition. There is so much red tape, not-in-my-back-yard (NIMBY) mentality and environmental opposition to new homes and condos being built on Oahu, that the nature of the free market is further skewed as demand compounds and supply continues to be seriously constrained.

This is simple Economics 101: limited supply and increasing demand leads to price increases.

dr-horton-kukuna-construction-kapolei-hawaii-real-estate

New homes nearing completion in D.R. Horton project in Oahu’s “Second City” of Kapolei

5. Babies are born every day

Population growth is a real factor to consider when looking at the supply and demand of Oahu real estate. Families are growing, which I think is great, but there are not enough new homes being built to keep up with the rising demand. Only so many people can fit in one home!

(This article was originally published on October 16, 2013)

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Munro Murdock is an Entrepreneur, Athlete, Real Estate Broker, Blogger, Father, Author, World Traveler and Podcaster. He resides on West Oahu in Hawaii with his wife and three children. You can Contact Munro by email here.

First Ever Pro Bowl Draft to be Held in Ko Olina Resort on Oahu

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Beachgoers soak up some sun at one of Ko Olina’s four inviting lagoons

All 88 Pro Bowl football players (to be announced Dec. 27) are expected to be in attendance at the first-ever draft event January 21 and 22 on the grounds of Lanikuhonua in the Ko Olina Resort on the southwestern shores of Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii. The event will be broadcast on the NFL Network at 8pm Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday January 22, 2014.

Football fans that want to get in on the action and watch the game on Sunday January 26 may want to consider booking a flight to Hawaii. It's tough work being a fan that dedicated, but somebody has got to do it!

I still have a couple of oceanfront Ko Olina Resort vacation rentals available on Lagoon 2 of the Ko Olina Beach Villas during the week of this event. Contact me for more details or visit the vacaton rental area of this site to learn more.

For complete details about the upcoming NFL Pro Bowl draft, click here.

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Munro Murdock is an Entrepreneur, Athlete, Real Estate Broker, Blogger, Father, Author, World Traveler and Podcaster. He resides on West Oahu in Hawaii with his wife and three children. You can Contact Munro by email here.