Queen Kapi'olani sold

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Tokyo-based Sports Shinko has sold its last remaining Hawai'i property — the Queen Kapi'olani Hotel — to a company run by local developer and University of Hawai'i regent Bert A. Kobayashi.

The purchase is the latest by Kobayashi, chairman of the board and principal shareholder of KG Holdings LLC, which had bought Sports Shinko's Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki for $5.5 million. The company also paid $12.4 million for Sports Shinko's Mililani Golf Club, Pukalani Country Club on Maui and Kiahuna Golf Club on Kaua'i.

Sports Shinko yesterday notified the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations that the Queen Kapi'olani's approximately 133 employees would be terminated June 11.

Kobayashi spokeswoman Ruth Ann Becker said KG Holdings intends to rehire most of the workers.

"During that period of time, KG Holdings will be reviewing operations," Becker said.

The purchase price, which was not disclosed, has been estimated at $3.5 million.

Last year, Sports Shinko sold the 59-unit leasehold Diamond Head Beach Hotel for $4.5 million to local developer Peter Savio.

It was one of three hotels and golf courses that Sports Shinko bought for $164 million between 1986 and 1990 during the Japanese investment boom. It ended up selling all the properties for less than $26 million.

The 314-room Queen Kapi'olani Hotel at 150 Kapahulu Ave. opened in 1969. It sits on less than one acre of leasehold land owned by the Cunha Estate. The hotel includes a swimming pool and sun deck, restaurant and banquet room.

"We wish to thank everyone associated with the Queen Kapi'olani Hotel, which we owned for more than a decade," said Satoshi Kinoshita, executive vice-president for Sports Shinko (Waikiki) Corp., in a statement yesterday. "During that time, we were honored to have served our many guests with the aloha spirit. We wish the hotel and its employees the best of luck under the new owners."

Kobayashi also is chairman of Kobayashi Development Group LLC and former chief executive of the construction firm Albert C. Kobayashi Inc.

He was part of a group that tried unsuccessfully to purchase Aloha Tower Marketplace from the Japanese mortgage holder in 1997. He also has been involved in partnerships to build homes, schools and the state office building in Kapolei.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.