Duane Shimogawa

Reporter- Pacific Business News

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Hunt Cos. Inc. has sold The Waterfront at Puuloa — an oceanfront rental community in Ewa Beach once known as Iroquois Point — to CP Waterfront IV LLC, an affiliate of San Francisco-based Carmel Partners, for an undisclosed price.

This purchase adds to Carmel Partners’ existing portfolio of three other properties on Oahu — the 106-unit Palms of Kilani in Wahiawa, the more than 500 former Navy Homes at Kalaeloa, and Waena Apartments, which was formerly part of the Kukui Gardens near downtown Honolulu.

A representative of Carmel Partners could not immediately be reached for comment.

Hunt has been in discussions with a prospective buyer for the former Navy subdivision in Ewa Beach since negotiations with Hawaii developer Peter Savio and a local hui broke off earlier this year.

As PBN reported at the time, the Savio-led group offered $330 million to purchase the 1960s-era property, which sits on land leased from the U.S. Navy. It is comprised of 1,461 units sitting on 367 acres.

Texas-based Hunt Cos. had put the subdivision on the market last summer with Eastdill Secured, and Savio was chosen as the winning bidder last fall.

Savio previously told PBN that the price was accepted, but Hunt’s counteroffer put so many restrictions on the deal that he decided to walk away.

Hunt acquired the leasehold interest for The Waterfront at Puuloa in 2003 as part of a unique land exchange with the Navy.

The company has spent more than $77 million on renovations and improvements for the former Iroquois Point homes, said Steve Colon, president of Hunt’s Hawaii development division.

The Waterfront at Puuloa is home to just under 6,000 residents and is currently at 94 percent occupancy. Approximately half the homes are rented to people in the military.

Duane Shimogawa covers energy, real estate and economic development for Pacific Business News.