HPU taps Group 70 for Aloha Tower work
Hawaii Pacific University has selected Honolulu-based planning and design firm Group 70 International Inc. to be the architect for a planned conversion of second-floor retail space at Aloha Tower Marketplace to student dorm lofts.
HPU announced its selection Friday, and expects to begin construction in the coming months to add residential units for 320 students at the 165,000-square-foot retail complex fronting Honolulu Harbor. The marketplace will retain a ground-level focus on retail that will include renovations for new stores, restaurants and HPU facilities.
HPU, which acquired ownership of the marketplace on land leased from the state late last year, reported selling $42 million in special-purpose revenue bonds to investors in July to fund the estimated $35 million makeover.
First Hawaiian to accept water bill payments
Board of Water Supply customers can now drop off their bill payments at any First Hawaiian Bank location on Oahu. The service is being offered to help provide customers with an additional bill payment option.
To make a payment at an FHB branch, customers will need to include their bill payment stub along with their payment check in an envelope and hand it to the teller. The envelope should be addressed to Board of Water Supply, City and County of Honolulu, P.O. Box 135037, Honolulu, HI 96801-5037. FHB will then forward the envelope to the BWS’ lockbox service. Payment will be posted to a customer account in one to two business days.
Other ways customers can make payment include by mail, by automatic bill payment, online, in person at the BWS office and at any satellite city hall.
For more information about the FHB service, visit the Board of Water Supply’s website at www.boardofwatersupply.com or call the BWS at 748-5030 from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Customers can also send an email to contactus@hbws.org.
FHA seeks $1.7B bailout from Treasury
WASHINGTON » A federal housing agency said Friday it needs a $1.7 billion bailout from the Treasury to cover projected losses in its reverse mortgage programs, which allow seniors to borrow against their homes for everyday living expenses.
Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carole Galante told Congress in a letter that her agency will withdraw the money from the Treasury before the fiscal year ends Monday. Congressional approval is not required. The cash infusion is the first in the agency’s 79-year history.
The agency, which insures 40 million home mortgages, is struggling with $5 billion in losses on its reverse mortgage program. Reverse mortgage borrowers, who must be 62 or older, can take lump-sum or monthly payments. They still must pay property taxes and insurance. Sale proceeds from a home go to the lender when the borrower dies or moves out. The FHA suffered big losses when many borrowers took large payments upfront and later ran into financial problems, often due to falling home values during the financial crisis.
BlackBerry posts loss, steep revenue drop
TORONTO » BlackBerry said Friday that it is committed to completing a series of major changes quickly after posting a nearly billion-dollar loss and a 45 percent drop in revenue for the second quarter.
The troubled smartphone company reported a loss of $965 million and revenue of $1.6 billion, in line with what it warned when it surprised the market by releasing dismal earnings projections last week and announcing 4,500 layoffs. A year ago it lost $235 million on revenue of $2.9 billion.
The company announced Monday that Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, is making a tentative $4.7 billion offer to buy the company and is trying to attract other investors.
Exxon extends benefits to same-sex couples
NEW YORK » Exxon Mobil Corp. said Friday that it will begin offering benefits to legally married same-sex couples in the U.S. for the first time starting next week.
The company says it will recognize "all legal marriages" when it determines eligibility for health care plans for the company’s 77,000 employees and retirees in the U.S.
That means if a gay employee has been married in a state or country where gay marriage is legal, his or her spouse will be eligible for benefits with Exxon in the U.S. as of Tuesday.
Exxon, which is facing a same-sex discrimination lawsuit in Illinois, said it was following the lead of the U.S. government. In June the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which had allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states. In recent months federal agencies have begun to offer benefits to legally married same-sex couples.
U.S. consumer spending up 0.3% in August
WASHINGTON >> U.S. consumers increased their spending slightly last month as their income grew at the fastest pace in six months. The figures point to only modest economic growth in the July-September quarter.
Consumers’ spending on goods and services rose 0.3 percent in August, the Commerce Department said Friday. That’s up from a 0.2 percent gain in July.
Consumer spending drives 70 percent of economic activity. Many analysts say the increases are not enough to accelerate economic growth in the third quarter from the 2.5 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter.
ON THE MOVE
Prudential Locations has announced new partners:
» Bonnie Ishii Coen joined the firm in 1992 and also has served as associate partner from 1998 and client services manager from 2001.
» Shannon Smith has more than 10 years’ experience with the firm, serving as a fine home specialist and an active board member of The Locations Foundation since 2006. Her awards include the Top 100 Realtors on Oahu Award in 2010 and 2012.
Pacific Home Lending selected Susan "Suzie" Bass as its vice president. She has worked more than 10 years as a residential mortgage lender. Bass was previously a branch manager and loan originator for DHI Mortgage as well as a senior loan officer for Gentry HomeLoans.
