International Marketplace &
Waikiki Revitalization Strategy

Subsequent to Lambert’s work, The Queen Emma land holdings today are producing in excess of double the revenue available for the provision of the health and hospital care to low-income Hawaiians than when Lambert started.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Queen Emma Land Company, one of Hawaii's royal trusts and the largest not-for-profit healthcare provider in the State, principally supports its operation through leasing one of the most valuable land holdings in the United States. The Queen Emma assets include a core group of properties at the center of Waikiki Beach along Kalakaua Avenue, one of America’s most iconic retail boulevards. Because most of the properties had been leased in the 1950’s on half-century leases, by 2010 they were almost all due for renewal.

Lambert Advisory served as the economic and financial advisor to the Queen Emma Land Company (QELC) in its strategy to reposition its assets in light of the impeding lease renewals. Lambert provided market and consumer research services associated with QELC’s redevelopment of the International Marketplace (IMP), a centerpiece of the Waikiki retail market and core to the Company’s 2010 plan for its surrounding properties. Existing in the heart of a corridor with some of the highest retail rental rates in the world, the redeveloped International Marketplace was positioned to substantially enhance net revenue to the Company through transitioning the marketplace from an older eclectic mix of stores and carts to a modern marketplace to attract both tourists and the growing higher income resident market alike.

Lambert provided in-depth market demand analyses and financial modeling for potential mixed-use development on Company lands surrounding the IMP site including office, hotel, condo/hotel, apartment and timeshare development. Overall development plans exceeded $2.0 billion in investment.