Honolulu Condos

Just For Fun:  New "Hawaii Five-O" begins filming pilot episode today on Oahu

"Book 'em Dano"!

Last night, the Hawaii International Film Festival threw its annual gala Oscar Night America Party at Waikiki's Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

There, amid all the folks dressed in their Oscar best, we ran into Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim. Kim introduced us to Peter Lenkov, executive producer of CSI: New York, who is now also executive producer of Hawaii Five-O, the CBS revival of the classic Hawaii-based TV series.

As we reported last month, Kim was the first actor cast for the Hawaii Five-O revival, playing Det. Chin Ho Kelly, a role originally played by Kam Fong.

Kim and Lenkov left last night's party early. Why?  Because filming started on the pilot for the new Five-O early this morning, at Barbers Point on O‘ahu.

Kim will be doing double duty for a couple months, since Lost continues filming its sixth and final season into April.

"It's too early to talk about the show," said Lenkov, but he promised he'd talk to us sometime in the next few months, so we could let our readers know how Five-O was progressing. 

Then he went off to bid on a handcrafted ukulele at the HIFF gala's silent auction. "I play guitar, but since I'm here, I thought I'd get a uke to take to the set with me."

Kim was similarly mum. "But I can tell you we're excited," he said. 

"Break a leg," we said.

In addition to Kim, the new Five-O's cast includes Scott Caan as Det. Danny "Danno" Williams (played in the classic series by James MacArthur) and Alex O'Loughlin as Det. Steve McGarrett (played to iconic perfection in the classic series by Jack Lord).

In case you didn't know it, the opening scene of both the old "Hawaii Five-O" and the new, shows the infamous "Ilikai Apartment Building", located in Waikiki, which by the way are not really apartments, but are condos (often referred to as apartments in Hawaii).  A small pool of condos are also operated in a hotel rental pool.

For details about Ilikai Apartment Building, including floor plans, photos, map and current listings of condos for sale, please visit our website at www.HNLCondos.com

Villa On Eaton Square #2715, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii - Listed for $439,000

Villa On Eaton Square, Waikiki, Honolulu Condo

400 Hobron Ln 2715
Honolulu, HI 96815


Price: $439,000

1 Bedrooms, 1 Bathrooms
748 Square Ft

Listing # 1001422

Excellent Views of Diamond Head, Ocean, Waikiki

HIGHLY Highly UPGRADED UNIT. Owner spent over $100,000 for fully renovation and furnished. This easy-to-use wide floor plan corner unit with beautiful views of the ocean, Al Wai canal, mountains & city Lights from lanai and windows. Excellent location to Ala Moana Center, Ala Moana Beach Park, shopping, dining and basline.Popular well maintained and secured bldg.also Pet friendly Bldg.

Basic Features:

Acres: 2.276
Region: Metro
City Name: Honolulu
County Name:
Neighborhood: WAIKIKI
Schools: Ala Wai
State: HI
Sub Area:
Subdivision:
Type:
Zip: 96815
Bathrooms: 1
Bedrooms: 1
Partial Baths:
Square Ft: 748

Additional Features:

Additional Rooms: Open Lanai
Amenities: BBQ,Exercise Room,Meeting Room,Pool,Recreation Area,Recreation Room,Resident Manager,Sauna,Security Guard,Storage,Trash Chute,Whirlpool
Building Name: Villa On Eaton Square
Building Style: High-Rise 7+ Stories
Floor Covering: Hardwood,Other
Furnished: F
Interior Living Area: 694
Land Area: 104710
Maintenance Fee Includes: AC Central,Cable TV,Electricity,Hot Water,Sewer,Water
Monthly Maintenance Fee: 569
Parking Spaces: 1
Parking: Garage,SecuredEnt
Prop Condition: Excellent
Remodel Year: 2007
Security: Card,Key,Security Patrol,Video
Property Type: Condo
Unit Features: Central AC,Corner/End,Storage
View: City,Marina/Canal,Mountain,Ocean
Year Built: 1974
Land Tenure: Fee Simple

Please Note:  This is not my listing, however, I can show you this property and others, as well as represent you as a buyer.

For More Information about Villa On Eaton Square Condos for sale, including floor plans, map, current listings and more photos, visit our website for featured information at http://www.HNLCondos.com.

Great West Waikiki High-Rise Condo Building - 1717 Ala Wai

Description: 1717 Ala Wai is a Fee Simple condominium located on the Ala Wai Canal across from the Hawaii Convention Center.  The building is built to a V-shape, and as a result, most units enjoy a view of the canal heading out to the Pacific Ocean.  And, you're about a 15-minute walk from the beach.

The building is 31 stories, with 283 units, mostly configured as two bedroom/bath and 3 bedroom/two bath. All units are good sized and include an 8-foot deep lanai. Preferred units are those facing the Ala Wai Canal.  Amenities include a swimming pool, recreation area and a sauna.

Land Tenure:  Fee Simple.

Building Details:  

Discover Loft Living at Vanguard Lofts, Kakaako, Honolulu, HI

An Interesting Conversion:

Moving Forward

The Vanguard Lofts is the renovation and conversion of the old National Cash Register (NCR) office building into a modern mixed-use urban loft project.

The Vanguard Lofts features just 34 residential lofts as well as 3,616 square feet of ground floor retail, marking the first time such a conversion has been developed in Honolulu.

In addition to refurbishing the former NCR building, the Vanguard Lofts also includes a new six-story building that will connect to and be of equal height to the former NCR building.

As part of Kakaako and located in the heart of midtown Honolulu, The Vanguard Lofts symbolizes Hawaii's embracement of progressive modern living spaces while also honoring the heritage of a historic building's past.

23 Unique Floor Plans

Choose the living space that fits your unique style. Each of the 34 Vanguard lofts provides its owner with a flexible space that is the essence of form and function.

From 827 sf one-bedrooms to a 2,273 sf four bedroom, four and a half bath plus den urban sanctuary, this space is yours.

Custom Finishes

Customize your Loft to suit your life. Begin by selecting between Light Filled Loft, Sophisticated City, or Urban Midnight. Each baseline style includes its own specific kitchen and bathroom finishes, hardwood and/or concrete floors, and granite and/or stone countertops.

Most units include high ceilings, expansive industrial sized windows, distinctive sliding wall panels, exposed concrete walls and ceilings, a gourmet's kitchen with Thermador professional series gas ranges, GE full size front load washer and dryer, spacious walk-in closets, Kohler and Toto plumbing fixtures, and several of the master bathrooms include multiple shower heads.

For those of you that are wine aficionados, you can outfit your kitchen with a 15" or 24" wide under-counter wine fridge or select the spacious 18" or 24" wide full height (7 ft tall) wine fridge.

Rooftop Pool Or Private Deck?

Step outside for a cocktail, or better yet, entertain a few friends on your private outdoor deck before a night on the town.

All Loft owners will enjoy their resident Skydeck with pool, whirlpool spa, BBQ pavilion, resident bar, and pool cabanas.

Eighteen of the Lofts will also include a large private walkout or walk-up rooftop deck (from 326 to 1,868 square feet) with the option for a built-in outdoor kitchen with gas BBQ, private 7' x 7' whirlpool spa and a personal rooftop garden. In addition, 31 lofts have large private walk out lanais. Perfect for entertaining a few friends or spending time with your family in your private urban outdoor retreat.

View Current, Active Listings of more Honolulu Condos at our website.

New Condo Conversion - Ala Moana Tower

Located on the Kapiolani corridor in the Ala Moana neighborhood. The hottest area for growth and expansion. Next to Ala Moana shopping center and walking distance to Walmart, Don Quijote and Nordstrom. Buses galore. Pet-friendly. A good place to start...or a place to retire. 3% closing credit if closing occurs before March 1, 2010.

1-Bedroom/1-Bath Apartments from $282,900 (Fee Simple)
2-Bedroom/2-Bath Apartments from $403,500 (Fee Simple)
2-Bedroom/2-Bath consisting of two apartments that can be rented separately from $459,500 (Fee Simple)

1617 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu, Hawaii (google map) (yahoo map)

Pet Friendly.  A Condo Conversion by Savio.

Check out other active, current condo listings in the Ala Moana neighborhhood, one of the most desirable and convenient areas of Honolulu, Hawaii.

You may also view active, current condo listings in other popular Honolulu Neighborhoods.

Condos Selling for Bargain Prices at Ilikai, Waikiki, Honolulu

The Ilikai is one of Oahu's most iconic hotels on Ala Moana Blvd. Jack Lord helped put the Ilikai on the map in the opening scene of Hawaii Five-O. What a lot of people don't know is the Ilikai was supposed to originally be built in Marina Del Ray, CA. Guy Harrison was a real estate developer in Southern California and was here in Hawaii on a trip when he happened to drive by the current site in Waikiki and asked the cab driver to pull over because he was amazed at the beauty and location. He ultimately secured an option on the land, moved out from California and brought in Chin Ho as the money partner and developed what is known today as the Ilikai in 1964. What has been so unique about the Ilikai over the years is its mixed use of Hotel and individually owned condos.

Fast forward 42 years: local devloper Brian Anderson bought 343 of the 1009 rooms in 2006. He had grand ambitions for the place. Unfortunately, they never came to light and the past few years the association has sued Anderson, he went delinquent on maintenance fees on the units he owned and earlier this year, the lender foreclosed on Anderson. Due to all the litigation that's been taking place, lenders have not been lending on the Ilikai. Therefore, those that are looking to sell need cash buyers. This has created some awesome opportunities for those with the cash!  Here's some statistics from the past 5 years:

Current Ilikai Apartments Waikiki Listings

Detailed Information about Ilikai Apartments Waikiki

More Photos of the Ilikai Apartments Waikiki

Configurations and Floor Plans of the ilikai Apartments Waikiki

Privacy, privilege reign at new Trump hotel in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii

Some very famous people own units at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk.

If management has its way, however, the hoi polloi will never know who they are.

Privacy is a watchword at the 462-room Trump Waikiki, which opened softly Nov. 16 and plans the real thing in February.

One month after opening, the interior is mostly complete, save for work on six penthouses, while Kalia Road will soon accommodate two-way traffic where it meets Saratoga Road.

A second restaurant, In-Yo, serving American and Japanese cuisine (for lunch) and Japanese and Italian (for dinner), opens this week.

What is not settled, however, is persuading a majority of owners to place their units into the hotel rental pool.

At present, fewer than 100 are available for hotel use, and executives say they need 250 to 300 to run an economical operation.

But management is patient, understanding that when owners have paid on average $1.5 million for a unit in the Trump Waikiki, they might like to enjoy it before anyone else does.

"I was a little surprised to learn that," admitted John Votsis, director of sales and marketing at the property. "It was a revelation, and even a little charming. But it's up to the owners, and we hope to have the rooms for the pool next year. The closing process is a process, and there is a natural progression for conditions to unfold."

"Some just want to be the first in the units, the first in the beds," said Managing Director Scott Ingwers. "They own a piece of Waikiki history."

The 38-story Trump Waikiki is the first new luxury property to open in Waikiki in a quarter century.

The 38-story, $350-million Grand Waikikian, a time-share property that opened a year ago at the nearby Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa, while gorgeous and classy, is not in the same league. (The cost of the Trump project has never been disclosed.)

For one, Trump Waikiki represents a new level of luxury for Oahu's hospitality industry. Its neighbors include the Halekulani and the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Walk complex.

Assets include unobstructed ocean views that also overlook Fort DeRussy, a green-and-grassy expanse that is likely to remain that way in perpetuity.

And then there is the Trump name, a brand that screams privilege.

Every one of the five-star luxury property units, which range in price from $500,000 to $9 million and required a 20 percent nonrefundable deposit, sold in a single day three years ago.

Forty percent of the owners are from Japan, and some own more than one unit. The six penthouses are unfinished, allowing the owners to use their own architect and designer.

Trump Waikiki is the fourth in the Trump portfolio, after properties in New York City, Chicago and Las Vegas. A second Big Apple hotel opens next year, and others are planned for Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Toronto, Panama, Dubai, Scotland, and Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Donald Trump, the American business magnate and media celebrity, is likely to attend the Waikiki hard opening in February, along with sons Eric and Donald Jr. and daughter Ivanka. But that's only if they can line up all their busy schedules.

Liana Mulleitner, director of residences and public relations, said Trump Waikiki was shooting for a January opening, but Ivanka could manage only a one-day window to fly in and fly right back out.

All current listings of Trump Tower Waikiki condos and additional photos of Trump Tower Waikiki can be found at our website, www.HNLCondos.com.

Sales Restarting - Pacifica in Honolulu, Hawaii, formerly Moana Vista

Pacifica in Honolulu, Hawaii, formerly Moana Vista, set to restart sales

Sales for a Kakaako condominium project that stalled last year are set to resume next month as the new owner gets ready to restart construction.  Sales are expected to begin around January 15, 2010.

San Diego-based developer OliverMcMillan plans to give the first opportunity to buy to the 175 original buyers who had their purchase contracts canceled by the project's original developer, KC Rainbow II, in September.

Architects Hawaii, which designed the original building, will continue to work on the project, along with Baldridge and Associates and Lincolne Scott.

OliverMcMillan also brought on New York-based architecture firm Gensler to redesign the public and common element spaces and exterior of the building.

The redesign includes a large motor court entry and a wood and glass lobby space for residents facing the Waimanu Street side of the building.

The 15,000 square feet of retail space facing Kapiolani Boulevard has been redesigned with large glass windows. The exterior of the concrete building, which was originally designed to be painted white, will be painted shades of metallic blue and silver instead, Oliver said.

The recreation deck, which had been designed with only a swimming pool, will also have green space, a large gym, barbecue areas, two small movie theaters, and a party room - a total of 4,000 square feet of extra floor space the developer purchased from the HCDA.

The finishes inside the units will also be upgraded; the firm plans to donate bathroom tile and fixtures and other materials that were already purchased to local charities.

OliverMcMillan is spending about $5 million for the additional amenities, and $1 million on the lobby but Oliver said the firm feels the additional design elements are worth the added expense.

The firm has also hired local interior design firm Philpotts & Associates, which will work with San Diego-based Jules Wilson ID on the interior spaces.

Oliver noted that the market was probably at its worst when the firm started looking at what he called a "broken real estate project" about nine months ago.

"We were able to see there was a viable business opportunity," he said. "We saw an opportunity to come in with some aloha spirit and solve some problems."

The company, which has promoted its development Managing Director Dan Nishikawa to run the Hawaii office, sees a future with urban mixed-use projects in Honolulu.

It has already had discussions with the Queen Emma Land Co., which is choosing a master developer for its International Marketplace redevelopment in Waikiki, and also with Kamehameha Schools, which plans to redevelop its Kakaako mauka land into an urban village.

Nauru Tower Chosen as Hawaii's Building of the Year

Nauru Tower, located in the Ala Moana neighborhood, was chosen as Hawaii's Building of the Year by the Institute of Real Estate Management for its efforts to create a more sustainable living environment for the building's residents and businesses.

In the past 18 months, the luxury condominium building at 1330 Ala Moana Blvd. has been transformed to include the latest environmentally friendly equipment and make more efficient use of common areas. These improvements have helped to cut costs, conserve natural resources and reduce waste and energy.

New initiatives include the use of biodegradable cleaning products free of phosphates and other chemicals; the installation of low-energy light bulbs throughout the residential building structure, common areas and service rooms; and window glass tinting for the expansive 4,000-square-foot makai lobby.

Future plans include researching the use of solar panels to meet the building's hot-water needs, as well as the installation of timed drip irrigation and low-energy lighting throughout the main lobby gardens. Major 2009 environmental initiatives included putting in new cooling towers, repainting the building and upgrading ventilation.

Please feel free to visit our website, www.HNLCondos.com and view Nauru Tower Condos Current Listings and more photos of Naura Towers.

Allure Waikiki - Condo High-Rise Under Construction Nearing Completion

According to a KHON report in Honolulu, Hawaii, "The sweeping views from the 35th floor of the Allure Waikiki are something to behold." 

"As construction workers, electricians and others toil away, Fifield's vice president of construction Mike Greco talked with us about some of the building's amenities."

"Another big plus is the recreational deck that we have attached to the building.  It's 15,000 square feet, has a large pool, 25 by 50 foot pool," said Greco.

Greco assures us construction is right on schedule.

"The completion date is March 18th.  We are just coming up on our two year anniversary of construction so we only have a few months left.  The building is topped out and we're working very hard on the interiors," said Greco.

 "Our finishes are fairly high end.  You get custom made cabinets, granite counter tops, Viking appliances - the flooring going in is hardwood flooring, ceramic tile," said Greco.

The building also has several green features -  precast concrete is produced on site saving on shipping materials...there will be a living, green wall in the condo lobby. 

There are more details on Allure Waikiki and current listings of Allure Condos for sale on our website, www.HNLCondos.com.

Configurations and floor plans for Allure Waikiki are also available to view.

The units start in the low $500,000 and go up.