BUSINESS BRIEFS
Work starts on Beach Walk project
Advertiser Staff
Construction began yesterday on a new 34,500 square-foot retail project in Waikiki called 280 Beach Walk that will be home to the new Hard Rock International.
The restaurant-anchored retail complex, scheduled to open in 2009, is being built at a site that was once home to Hula Hut and New Tokyo Restaurant just off Kalakaua on Saratoga.
Developer First Round Pacific LLC said the project will be the first retail establishment in Waikiki certified by LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — a rating system that attempts to set national standards for measuring green building practices.
The project was designed by Eight Inc., an architectural firm with offices in Honolulu, San Francisco and New York. The landscaping includes grass and palm trees, flagstone pavers and a series of low stone benches.
AQUA WILL MANAGE HONOLULU PRINCE
Aqua Hotels announced yesterday that it will take over management of the Honolulu Prince, which was recently purchased by a New York finance and investment firm.
Mike Paulin, CEO and owner of Aqua Hotels & Resorts, said that Ramsfield Hospitality Finance has selected Aqua to manage the Honolulu Prince, effective March 26, which increases the Aqua's presence in Waikiki to 12 hotels.
Formerly managed by ResortQuest Hawaii, the 121-room Honolulu Prince is at 415 Nahua St. and considered a budget hotel. "It increases the number of affordable rooms we have to offer value-conscious travelers," Paulin said.
The hotel said it will be managed as part of the cheaper Aqua Lite line, while the recently renovated properties are part of the Aqua Boutique Collection.
Renamed Aqua Honolulu Prince, the hotel has spacious and comfortable guest rooms along with one- and two-bedroom suites. Standard rooms start at $94 per night, based on best available rates, as of last week.
CHAMINADE NAMES 2 NEW REGENTS
Chaminade University yesterday said Gae Bergquist Trommald and Dr. Edison H. Miyawaki have been appointed to serve on the university's board of regents.
Chaminade regents serve in a decision-making capacity, are responsible for establishing and approving plans and policies of the university, and oversee the accomplishment of these plans and policies.
Trommald currently oversees the marketing division of Communications Pacific as its executive vice president. Previously, she was the senior vice president for all of the marketing services for Outrigger.
Miyawaki is the chairman, president and CEO of Family Health I and II, which operate skilled-nursing facilities in Honolulu. Educated at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s he became the first Japanese-American to purchase an ownership interest in a National Football League franchise, the Cincinnati Bengals.
DHX OFFERS NEW O'AHU-MAUI ROUTE
DHX-Dependable Hawaiian Express is launching a new weekly shipping service between O'ahu and Maui.
The DHX schedule calls for Sunday departure from Honolulu with a Monday pickup by customers on Maui.
Kane McEwen, DHX general manager in Honolulu, said the "less-than-container" service will help fill a need created when Young Brothers had to reduce its cargo space at Maui's Kahului Harbor.
For further details, visit the DHX Web site www.dhx.com.
