The historic Joseph W. Podmore building in Downtown Honolulu sold for $2.6 million in an off-market sale that closed Tuesday.
International architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firm ESC Pacific, which has operations in Japan, Guam and the U.S., acquired the property at 202 Merchant St. in a privately negotiated and off-market transaction, and will establish its U.S. headquarters there, according to an announcement from CBRE.
CBRE Hawai‘i Capital Markets represented ESC Pacific in the deal, from sourcing to close, the announcement noted.
Rather than pursue a marketed listing, ESC Pacific worked over the course of a year to identify a property "suited to its long-term objectives," the announcement says. "The opportunity to acquire and preserve a landmark of Podmore's stature carried particular significance to the firm."
"The best opportunities in this market are rarely the ones being advertised," Matthew McKeever, senior associate with CBRE Hawai‘i Capital Markets, said in the announcement. "ESC was looking for the right long-term home, not just an available building, and finding it took a private, locally driven search. It was a privilege to help a firm of this caliber establish itself in Downtown Honolulu."
The Podmore Building was designed by an unknown architect and constructed in 1902 out of basalt, or lava rock, one of two building materials locally available at that time, a local architect previously told Aloha State Daily.
"The building is representative of a style of rusticated stone construction utilized for commercial buildings in Hawai‘i from 1894 to 1907," Historic Hawai‘i Foundation says, noting that the Podmore building is one of about 10 surviving cut-stone buildings which, "by virtue of their use of native lava stone, are unique to Hawai‘i."
According to the CBRE announcement, the 4,638-square-foot, two-story building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.
"The Podmore stood out for its history, its location, and what it represents," Eric Newman, president of ESC Pacific, said in the announcement. "We are proud to become its next steward, to establish our U.S. home here, and to preserve the historic character of this part of Downtown Honolulu."
CBRE says that ESC will occupy the building's second floor as its U.S. base and the ground floor will continue its longstanding restaurant use. Currently, the building is home to Podmore restaurant.
Katherine Nomura, partner at Podmore, told Aloha State Daily in an email Wednesday that the restaurant is not affected by the sale of the building. Podmore turns five on Friday, Aug. 21, which Nomura says it will be celebrating by bringing back its five most popular cocktails.
"Weekday lunch, weekend brunch, all-day dining and cocktails will continue as we enter our sixth year. In fact, people have had such great feedback about our burger (available for lunch only), we will be doing a burger lunch pop-up on Mondays and Tuesdays in the very near future," she says. "We have also had the privilege of providing catering for some incredible events and would love to grow that aspect of the restaurant for both food and the bar. If anything, Podmore's operations will expand as the building's next chapter unfolds.
"Regarding the new owners, we are confident that they will be great stewards of the historic property and will approach any future changes to the building with as much respect and care as the family that owned it before them."
According to City and County of Honolulu property records, which did not reflect the sale as of Thursday, D'Ascoli Podmore Building LLC was the fee owner.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
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