The long-shuttered, 90-year-old Queen Theater in Kaimukī has hit the market for the first time in more than 50 years.
Originally constructed in 1936, the 12,497-square-foot building sits on a 10,396-square foot parcel at 3588 Wai‘alae Ave. CBRE's Matthew McKeever is leading the marketing efforts.
According to an announcement from CBRE, the property is offered fee simple and as-is, "providing the acquiring investor full ownership of both land and improvements in a submarket where such control is rarely available."
The asking price was not noted in the announcement or on a website for the property.
"The Queen Theater has been a fixture on Wai‘alae Avenue for nearly 90 years, and opportunities to acquire fee simple control of a property like this in Kaimukī simply don't come around," McKeever said in the announcement. “Investors who understand Honolulu's land constraints recognize what that means for long-term value."
He declined to comment further.
"Kaimukī is a supply-constrained urban infill submarket characterized by limited new commercial development and infrequent ownership turnover along its primary corridor," CBRE says. "Fee simple assets of this scale along Wai‘alae Avenue have rarely changed hands, positioning the Queen Theater as a durable long-term hold for investors seeking established Honolulu neighborhood retail fundamentals."
The Historic Hawai‘i Foundation says that the 850-seat theater, listed as "endangered" in 2006, is a relic from the "golden age of cinema" that hosted everything from traveling vaudeville shows to 25-cent matinees. In later years, it became a second-run theater that hosted midnight showings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and later an adult theater, the HHF website notes.
The news of its listing follows recent action from the Honolulu City Council, which on June 3 approved Resolution 127, a move that could allow the city to potentially move forward on the acquisition of the theater.
The resolution revises the city's Public Infrastructure Map, or PIM, for the Primary Urban Center Development Plan area, adding a symbol for a government building to the property.
"Two years ago, the Council adopted Resolution 24-1 76, CD1, which requested the administration to take the steps necessary to acquire the Queen Theater property for public use as a city-owned multipurpose venue for theatrical, musical and community performances, and if necessary, to prepare a resolution for the Council to initiate proceedings in eminent domain," a report on the May 21 meeting of the city's Committee on Zoning & Planning notes. "The PIM amendment will allow for the appropriation of funds in the city’s capital budget for land acquisition of the Queen Theater property, which is owned by Narciso Yu Jr., and Adoree Yu."
The fiscal year 2027 capital budget currently appropriates $4 million to do so, the report states.
However, according to the report, the deputy director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting testified on May 21 that because of current and competing budget restraints, the administration does not want to purchase the theater property at this time, although "there is always potential for future consideration."
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
