A company with ties to a close friend of President Barack Obama has bought a historic oceanfront mansion in Waimanalo used as a setting for the 1980s TV detective show "Magnum, P.I."
The $8.7 million purchase, which closed Monday, has generated speculation about whether Obama’s "Winter White House" could move from Kailua to the eastern end of Windward Oahu, though no one representing the home’s new owner responded to requests for comment Wednesday.
Waimanalo Paradise LLC, a company registered in Delaware, bought the five-bedroom house on 3 acres well hidden from public view between the ocean and Kalanianaole Highway.
The manager of the company who also signed the deed and a mortgage is Judy Grimanis, an executive assistant with Chicago-based private equity firm Vistria Group, founded by Marty Nesbitt.
Nesbitt is one of Obama’s best friends and is board chairman of the nonprofit Barack Obama Foundation raising money for the president’s future library. Nesbitt also has routinely spent time with the president during regular winter holiday vacations on Oahu.
Obama has spent time around Christmas on the island relaxing with family and friends for six consecutive years. For each of those stays, the president has rented homes in Kailua.
The Waimanalo estate is not presently in shape for such an occasion, as it is in need of major improvements.
The home was built in 1933 and includes an 11,054-square-foot main house, a gate house and a boat house.
"Magnum, P.I." regularly filmed scenes with the show’s star, Tom Selleck, driving his red Ferrari across the estate’s interior driveway. Selleck’s character, Thomas Magnum, lived in a guesthouse at the fictional estate dubbed Robin’s Nest after the wealthy but unseen novelist Robin Masters.
The show aired on CBS from 1980 to 1988.
The actual estate is named Pahonu, after an ancient rock pen extending from the beach into shallow water built to hold turtles that were caught and reserved for consumption by Hawaiian royalty. The former turtle pond was listed on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Noted Hawaii architect Louis Davis, whose works include McKinley High School, the nearby state Department of Agriculture building and the former downtown Honolulu Police Station, designed the Spanish Colonial-style home.
Pahonu was built by the grandparents of Eve Glover Anderson, who lived in the house but wanted to downsize, according to Mary Worrall, an agent with List Sotheby’s International Realty who represented Anderson in the sale.
Anderson, a Republican representative in the state House in the mid-1990s and the stepdaughter of billionaire Barbara Cox Anthony, who was the richest woman in Hawaii until her death in 2007, listed her home for sale in January 2014. She reduced the price from $15.75 million to $10.7 million in July and then to $7.8 million two months ago.
Worrall said the home needs a major remodel but has glorious views of the ocean, Manana (Rabbit Island), Kaneohe and the Koolau cliffs.
"It’s a gorgeous property," she said.
Worrall said six offers were made for the home, and Anderson selected the highest bid. Worrall said she is not allowed to identify the buyer but said the buyer seemed intent on keeping the estate in one piece as opposed to some rival bidders who appeared interested in subdividing the property.
Grimanis is listed as the manager of Waimanalo Paradise. The owner or owners of the company are not disclosed in public records in Delaware. Hawaii property records show that the deed and mortgage were mailed to Chicago attorney Seth Madorsky.
Waimanalo Paradise obtained a mortgage from a Colorado company for $9.5 million, according to records filed with the state Bureau of Conveyances, perhaps allowing money for renovation work.
"This buyer truly appreciates the property," Worrall said.
