Chaney Brooks changes direction
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
One of Hawai'i's oldest residential community property management firms has gotten out of the business, assigning thousands of homeowners a new manager for their apartment and community associations.
Chaney, Brooks & Co. said yesterday that it has sold its condominium association management division to another Honolulu firm, Certified Management Inc., for an undisclosed price.
The division managed 152 properties with 15,000 units across the state, and was staffed by about 40 employees, all of whom will be offered positions at Certified, according to Chaney Brooks.
The sale represents a dramatic redirection for a company whose co-founder, Aaron Chaney, built the business on residential property management with his own firm in 1960.
"It's a definite shock," said Steve Sofos, a 16-year former Chaney Brooks employee who runs his own commercial real estate firm.
"Aaron Chaney was Mr. Residential Property Management in Hawai'i. It just signals a whole change for that company."
Industry observers said Chaney Brooks' condominium management business had been shrinking in recent years as the company grew to become more focused on commercial real estate.
Earlier this year, Chaney Brooks shuffled top executives and hired a new president, Bill Ramsey, who previously headed his own property management firm.
The company also recently entered the military housing management business, with a contract to manage 2,000 units on Ford Island and plans to compete for about 20,000 military housing units on O'ahu headed for privatization.
The condominium management division "was kind of not in sync with the direction we are headed," said Steve Sombrero, Chaney Brooks executive vice president.
Sombrero said the company, now with 85 employees, will not seek to sell any remaining divisions, which also include residential rental management of about 1,300 units.
The sale will leave two dominant statewide residential community property management firms — Certified and Hawaiiana Management Co. — each managing about 55,000 residential units.
"Now we've got one major competitor instead of two," said Emory W. Bush, Hawaiiana Management president. "We look forward going head to head with (Certified)."
Certified could not be reached for comment yesterday. Sombrero said the company previously managed about 40,000 residential units through community and apartment associations.
Jay Bloom, president of Hawaiiana Management parent Hawaiiana Group Inc., said the industry is competitive and his company has been gaining ground.
He said that Hawaiiana in the last three years had picked up 40 management contracts comprising 10,000 units from Chaney Brooks, including Waikele, Ewa by Gentry and One Archer Lane. "We've been growing steadily as they've been contracting," Bloom said.
Chaney Brooks remains one of the state's leading commercial real estate firms, with about 4 million square feet of commercial property under management.
The company is owned by NBS (Hawaii) Inc., a subsidiary of Japan-based Nihon Building Service Co., which acquired Chaney Brooks 15 years ago.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
