Kawamoto to repair Hawai'i rental homes
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Real estate tycoon Gensiro Kawamoto said yesterday he is on a mission to repair and renovate all 103 of his Hawai'i rental homes, including about 30 vacant houses, and soon will pursue larger development projects in the Islands.
The Japanese billionaire, in a faxed statement, said he intends to keep renting all his properties here, and that upgrades should be pleasing to tenants and neighbors by March.
Kawamoto also said he will begin work this year on a plan to develop property in Kaka'ako and several hundred homes on Maui.
Last February, he announced that he had begun working with an architect to develop a 25-story, midmarket condominium with about 200 units on a parcel bounded by Queen, Keawe and South streets. He bought the land in 1989 for $14.8 million, but never executed plans for an affordable high-rise.
Kawamoto yesterday did not describe his plans for the Kaka'ako project, but said he will be forthcoming with more information.
A larger development project on Maui with "several hundred" homes will start shortly, Kawamoto said, again not providing details.
Kawamoto has owned 148 acres in Kihei near the Wailea Resort since 1989. A year ago, he announced plans to revive a dormant plan and build 880 housing units, half of them reserved for affordable housing.
In December 2001, Kawamoto filed a land reclassification petition with the state Land Use Commission for the project, but the commission yesterday said the petition was deficient and that Kawamoto never responded to commission concerns.
Though the picture surrounding the maintenance of Kawamoto's rental homes here remains cloudy, the 70-year-old investor shed a little more light on events surrounding the issue.
On Wednesday, Kawamoto said he had fired his long-time local attorney Carol Asai-Sato and his property management company. He said yesterday management firm Chaney, Brooks & Co. and Asai-Sato were responsible for the "terrible" condition of his rental units.
Asai-Sato's firm, Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing, denies the claim, and said Thursday that Kawamoto was regularly updated on his properties with photos, faxes and phone calls, and that the firm's services were provided at his direction.
Chaney Brooks President Bill Ramsey did not respond to requests for comment.
Kawamoto added yesterday: "I have never directed anyone to manage my homes, including landscaping and pool, so that their value goes down. I would never say such a thing.
"My policy towards rental homes is that, first, the exterior of the property, including landscaping, should be kept well maintained. The properties should be in balance with the properties in the neighborhood; not troubling neighbors."
Many of Kawamoto's homes have angered residents because of negative effects on property values.
Larry Sakagawa, a concerned Hawai'i Kai resident who said he lives on a street with two vacant Kawamoto rentals, said one yard is trimmed when it gets about 3 feet high.
"The other has not been cleaned since July 2001 and the jungle is spilling onto the street.Ê ... These homes really make the neighborhood look bad and impacts my property value," Sakagawa said.
Kawamoto said he is committed to remaining in the home rental business in Hawai'i and that his initial decision early last year to sell 61 of his homes was out of shock and dismay at the condition of the properties.
"It seemed at first that everything was beyond my control, that the best thing to do was to sell all of my properties," he said. But then he said he learned that Hawai'i's robust home resale market was boosting rental demand.
Early last year, Kawamoto said he had put the homes on the market to take advantage of "tremendous investment opportunities" outside Hawai'i that come along only once every 20 to 30 years.
Kawamoto at the time also listed for sale more than 600 homes in California for the same stated reason. Kawamoto was able to sell 58 Hawai'i homes. It was unclear whether he sold any California homes.
In April, Kawamoto attorneys settled a lawsuit with California's district attorney, which had accused Kawamoto of failing to properly maintain 149 rental units in Santa Rosa.
Attorneys representing Kawamoto then sued his California property management firm, CB Richard Ellis Inc., for allegedly failing to properly notify Kawamoto representatives in Hawai'i of complaints lodged by tenants. The case is pending in U.S. District Court in California.
