Kaka'ako's waterfront fine-dining restaurant John Dominis may be headed for redevelopment under a plan by owner D.G. "Andy" Anderson to sell the business to a Japan-based investor.

The longtime restaurateur and former politician is seeking state approval to transfer his lease for the state-owned site to Ocean Investments LLC.

Anderson has arranged to sell John Dominis with a provision for him to continue operating the restaurant with its adjacent wedding and meeting facilities for a minimum of 18 months.

"We'll run it as usual," he said.

But Anderson added that factors including the 254-seat restaurant's age, expensive ground rent, rising property taxes and the site's attractiveness make redevelopment inevitable.

"The land rent is getting pretty high, and a restaurant complex in itself won't be able to pay the bills much longer," he said. "It'll have to be redeveloped. The building is tired. The restaurant is too big for today's market. It had its time."

John Dominis has been in business since 1979, perched alongside the entrance to the Kewalo Basin commercial boat harbor in a long-isolated, largely industrial area of the Kaka'ako waterfront.

However, this is not the first time redeveloping the 3/4-acre site with ocean views has been planned.

Three years ago, Anderson proposed demolishing and rebuilding John Dominis as part of a larger plan to build a business trade center with residential, office and possible hotel units in a pair of thin high-rise buildings designed to look like sails above twin canoe-shaped hull structures.

That project was proposed for the John Dominis site and adjacent state land, and also contained retail shops, restaurants, a farmers market and outdoor concert venue. But the proposal wasn't accepted by the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, the area's landowner and regulator of development.

Last month, Anderson sought approval from the agency for Ocean Investments to assume his John Dominis lease, which runs until 2042. But directors deferred action pending receipt of financial information from the buyer, in part to demonstrate that the investor can satisfy lease obligations.

The board is scheduled to vote on the lease assignment at a meeting this morning.

It was unclear who heads Ocean Investments or what redevelopment plans, if any, the company has.

Anderson said he couldn't comment about the sale or the buyer because of a confidentiality agreement. A local attorney representing Ocean Investments could not be reached.

In a memo sent to John Dominis employees yesterday, Anderson stated that he received an unsolicited offer from the buyer after an offer by Japan-based Watabe Wedding Corp. that didn't come to fruition.

"As difficult a decision this is for me personally, I am of the opinion that after 30 years, this choice piece of real estate needs a person with a new vision and vigor for its future," Anderson said in the memo. "I think from what I have seen and heard thus far, the new buyer will bring to the property such energy."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.