Book ‘em, Danno, and find me a place to live

Few people can imagine living in a historic home, but a historic condo? If developer Marshall Hung gets his way, the historic Honolulu Advertiser building will be just that.
Hawaii News Now reported that the landmark building, which was a part of Hawaii’s print news legacy for almost 100 years, may be sold to Hung, who previously developed an affordable high-rise condo building at 215 N. King St. in Chinatown. Hawaii News Now says he plans to keep the building that fronts Kapiolani Boulevard, and build condos on the South Street part of the 1.94-acre lot.

During the last two years since the Honolulu Advertiser shut down, the building has served as the backdrop for television’s “Hawaii Five-0” headquarters. If Hung purchases the building, the show will need to find a new location; CBS executives are currently working with the state to find a space large enough to accommodate the show’s stages, trailers, and more than 150 employees.

For those of you looking to move into this notable location, keep in mind that if Hung closes the deal, he still needs to get state approvals before he can start building—so it will be a while before you can claim to live at Steve McGarret’s office. We're hoping that he keeps the integrity of the building intact in the process; after all, Honolulu Magazine and the Historic Hawaii Foundation named the Advertiser Building as one of Hawaii's most endangered places in 2010. (Click here to see the story.)

This is also good news for people looking to live in town, in an extremely walkable area.

“We are at the bottom of the real estate cycle now, so this is when developers get more active,” says Mike Hamasu of Colliers Monroe & Friedlander. “There are 13 residential projects planned for the area, all in different stages of planning, permitting, design, etc.”

He adds that the Advertiser building condo project is probably still going through design; but others, like the Symphony Park on Ward and Kapiolani, are going through permits and planning. In addition, the state is about to select their developer for 690 Pohukaina St.

Even without the cache of “Hawaii Five-0” filming, Kakaako is becoming a hot area to move into. Meanwhile, stay tuned for the show’s third season, which kicks off next month.