The James Campbell Company recently bought an apartment complex on land it used to own in West Oʻahu. It's part of a broader strategy to invest in residential real estate.
Last month the James Campbell Company bought an apartment complex in West Oʻahu from Blackstone for $165 million.
The complex, called The Element, is located in Hoʻopili — the DR Horton subdivision near Kapolei that's being built on land that was once owned by Campbell.
As the Estate of James Campbell, the company spun its vision for Kapolei out of its sugar cane fields on the ʻEwa Plain. The company also has real estate interests across the U.S., from Boston to San Francisco.
But the recent purchase is part of a broader strategy under Campbell CEO Kevin Penn — a shift toward residential real estate ownership and development and a stronger focus on Hawaiʻi.
The company currently has four projects on Oʻahu that are expected to add new homes, industrial warehouse space and two entertainment venues.
The first expected to finish is the Kapolei Harborside Building Two, a 90,000-square-foot industrial warehouse. There are two lūʻau venues — one at the Cove in Ko Olina and the other in Waikīkī. Campbell is partnering with Kobayashi Group on both projects.
Then there's Nāliko, a five-story building that will add 300 apartments in the center of Kapolei when it's finished next year.
Penn says Hawaiʻi has an undersupply of for-rent apartment buildings because it's hard for most developers to make the numbers work.
But he says James Campbell has the land and access to capital, so it's in a perfect position to help supply more apartment homes in the Islands.
