A&B Properties to JV on $210M Luxury Condos

HONOLULU-A&B Properties Inc. has signed a letter of intent to join a joint venture of The MacNaughton Group and The Kobayashi Group in the development of a 40-story residential tower on four acres overlooking Ala Moana Beach Park and the Pacific Ocean.

A&B’s total investment of equity and mezzanine debt in the $210-million project will be $40 million. Construction of “Hokua” is slated to start sometime this year at 1288 Ala Moana and be completed in late 2005.

Marketing for the project began in December 2002. Kobayashi Group Chairman Bert Kobayashi says sales contracts have been signed for 227 or 91% of the 247 residential units. “Buyers have been strongly attracted to the large apartment sizes…,” says Kobayashi.