HONOLULU—CoastWood Capital Group, Chartres Lodging Group, and KKR have announced plans to open Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach in the former Waikīkī Trade Center. The new hotel is slated to open this winter and will offer modern accommodations including 230 upscale, oversized rooms and suites with state-of-the-art amenities, spa-like bathrooms, and signature services.
“We’re pleased to bring this exciting Hyatt Centric hotel to the State of Hawai’i,” said Cordell Lietz, president, CoastWood Capital Group. “We’re confident that the new Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach, coupled with its central location near the reimagined International Market Place, will contribute greatly to the revitalization taking place along Kūhiō Avenue and, in turn, support the health of Hawai’i’s tourism industry.”
Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach will be the first Hyatt Centric hotel in Hawai’i and will place guests in the center of the action, allowing easy options for exploration. The new destination hotel will feature floor-to-ceiling windows offering magnificent views of Waikīkī, as well as on-site amenities including an outdoor pool and entertainment deck, upscale bar and restaurant, and 24/7 fitness facility. Upgrades are also being made to the four-story, 400-stall parking garage, and to the public space immediately surrounding the property.
The addition of a new, 34,000-square-foot, two-level Nordstrom Rack to the redeveloped Waikīkī Trade Center was announced last year and will open in the fall of 2016. Several other retailers will also open at the street level in newly-renovated spaces, including Starbucks, Jamba Juice and American Savings Bank.
“Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach and surrounding retail will bring new life to the heart of Waikīkī along Kūhiō and Seaside Avenues,” said Maki Bara, president and co-founder of Chartres Lodging Group. “We’re pleased to provide a compelling lodging option easily allowing both guests and locals to experience all that Waikīkī has to offer.”
“We are thrilled to work with CoastWood Capital Group, Chartres Lodging Group and KKR to bring the Hyatt Centric hotel to Waikīkī,” said Steve Haggerty, global dead of capital strategy, franchising, and select service, Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “One of the brand’s missions is to put our guests at the center of the action in the best destinations in the world, and we feel we have found the perfect fit with this new location in Hawai’i.”
The Hyatt Centric brand was introduced in 2015 as a new, full-service lifestyle brand within the Hyatt family. Hyatt Centric hotels were created for the millennial-minded traveler who wants to be in the heart of the destination and allows for easy exploration and discovery. From the artwork and furniture, to the food and beverages—each element of the hotel allows guests to more deeply experience the destination.
The idea to repurpose the Waikīkī Trade Center—which was previously an almost-empty office building with a few night clubs—into an upscale hotel destination was driven by the need to provide more much-needed hotel rooms in Waikīkī, which has seen the loss of more than 5,000 hotel rooms since 2000.
A valuable land asset of Queen Emma Land Company, the redeveloped Waikīkī Trade Center will directly support The Queen’s Medical Center, the state’s largest private, nonprofit hospital.
“Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach is located on a valuable parcel of land belonging to Queen Emma Land Company. The new hotel and adjacent retail will not only deliver a vibrant new addition along Kūhiō Avenue, but will also create a sustainable income source to support The Queen’s Medical Center and our mission of providing quality health care to Hawai’i’s people,” said Eric Martinson, president, Queen Emma Land Company.
Since launching a dedicated real estate platform in 2011, KKR has committed over $2.7 billion in equity and debt across 70 real estate transactions in the U.S., Europe and Asia as of March 31, 2016. The global real estate team consists of over 40 dedicated investment professionals, spanning both the equity and debt sides of the business.
