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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 1:18 a.m., Monday, December 25, 2006

Campbell sells downtown block for $34.7 million

Advertiser Staff

Lexington Corporate Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust, announced this weekend that it acquired the fee-simple interest in the buildings comprising one city block ("Honolulu Super Block") in downtown Honolulu for a purchase price of approximately $34.7 million from Campbell Hawai'i Investors LLC and Austin Interests.

Honolulu Super Block, bordered by three main downtown streets (South King, Bethel, and South Hotel Streets) and one major pedestrian thoroughfare (Fort Street mall), currently houses three low-rise multi-tenant office/retail buildings and one building under a condominium property regime comprised of a two-story retail building occupied by Macy's and an attached 5-story parking garage.

The block is located near the core of Honolulu's Central Business District, Chinatown and the growing Arts & Culture district and is one of the few remaining redevelopment sites in urban Honolulu with 450 foot building height potential.

Honolulu Super Block encompasses 79,461 square feet of land area, improved with buildings totaling 297,441 rentable square feet. Under current zoning, the property is expected to support mixed use development of up to 595,000 square feet.

The existing buildings are approximately 97 percent leased under leases, which expire by the end of 2012.

Lexington acquired a leasehold position in the Macy's department store on Honolulu Super Block in December, 1996 for approximately $10.6 million.

The Macy's department store consists of 85,610 rentable square feet.

"This acquisition demonstrates an important advantage of investing in properties subject to long-term net leases," said John B. Vander Zwaag, executive vce president. "Through our leasehold investment in Macy's department store, we have been witness to the growth of the downtown Honolulu market and the corresponding increase in property values, and we were able to capitalize on this rare opportunity to purchase a prime block in downtown Honolulu."

Lexington has no immediate plans to develop the property and has retained Colliers Monroe Friedlander, who represented the seller during the sale, to lease and manage the property.