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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, January 31, 2002

Aston to manage Waikoloa townhouse resort

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i homebuilder Stanford Carr has contracted with Aston Hotels & Resorts to manage a planned Big Island resort townhouse project.

Waikoloa Colony Villas, a roughly $70 million project with 168 units at Waikoloa Beach Resort, will be built in phases starting in the next two weeks, Carr said.

Selling resort condominiums with the option for buyers to rent out their units through a hotel management firm is a first for Carr, whose 12-year-old company Stanford Carr Development has built mostly non-resort residential homes in Hawai'i.

Joseph Toy, president of the local tourism industry consulting firm Hospitality Advisors LLC, said Carr's move is an effort to capitalize on what has been a resurgence in the resort condo rental market on the Neighbor Islands over the past four years. "There certainly is a market for that," he said.

Waikoloa Resort contains three other resort condos: The Shores at Waikoloa, which Aston also manages, Vista Waikoloa and the Bay Club, which is a time-share property. Two residential projects are in development: Kamalani with 32-unit luxury home sites and 72 condo units, and Naupaka Place with 11 oceanfront custom home sites.

Carr bought his 22-acre property last June from Japanese general contracting firm Taisei Corp., which in 1990 planned to develop a 219-unit luxury condo project that was derailed by the bursting of the Japanese bubble economy.

Carr has priced two- and three-bedroom units from the mid-$300,000s. He is targeting second-home buyers who want resort services and amenities when they're staying in their units, and the option to rent the units out when they're away.

"By teaming with Aston, we'll be providing the owner with a unique added value — the comforts of home, the service and security of a hotel, and the activity and luxury of a resort community," Carr said.

Aston, a subsidiary of Memphis-based ResortQuest International, manages 34 properties in Hawai'i.

Kelvin Bloom, Aston chief operating officer, said that based on Aston's other properties he expects the majority of buyers to put their units into the hotel pool.

Carr said sales will drive the building of units. He anticipates completion within three years.

Reach Andrew Gomes at 525-8065 or agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Correction: A previous version of this story's headline read that "Stanford Carr to manage Waikoloa townhouse resort".