The Kamehameha Schools has acquired the Varsity Twin Cinema site and the nearby Varsity Office Building from Los Angeles-based Robertson Properties Group.

The $7 billion charitable trust took over the 1.7-acre Mo'ili'ili properties and received an unspecified amount from Robertson. In exchange, Robertson received the 14-acre Kamehameha Drive-In property in 'Aiea owned by Kamehameha Schools.

The deal expands Kamehameha Schools' Mo'ili'ili land holdings and provides greater potential for redevelopment in the area.

"The Varsity property adds even greater synergy to our options and opportunities in Mo'ili'ili," said Tara Young, senior commercial asset manager at Kamehameha Schools.

"(We) can look forward to an exciting rejuvenation of the area within the next few years."

Young said the trust has no immediate plans for the Varsity properties but will work closely with the Mo'ili'ili community in the coming months.

In addition to the Varsity properties, Kamehameha Schools owns the 73,163-square-foot Puck's Alley retail and restaurant center, which is in the process of being renovated.

Kamehameha Schools, which acquired the leasehold interest to Puck's Alley in June 2006, now owns the fee or leasehold interest to 11.4 acres of land in Mo'ili'ili.

Robertson, part of the family of companies that includes the Varsity's owner, Consolidated Theatres, said it is examining several retail, restaurant, office and other commercial uses for the Kamehameha Drive-In site.

Robertson also owns the newly completed The Center of Waikiki and is building the Pearl City Gateway retail center in Manana.

Founded by the 1884 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the Kamehameha Schools is a tax-exempt trust that educates children of Native Hawaiian ancestry. The trust is the state's largest private landowner with over 365,000 acres of land in Hawai'i.

The Varsity, designed by noted architect C.W. Dickey, closed on June 17 after 68 years because of declining attendance.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.