Four years after taking over the ground lease for the former Kona Seaside Hotel, Nine Brains has purchased the fee-simple interest in Pacific 19 Kona for $23 million. The deal completes a strategy that began in 2022 when the firm acquired the leasehold and transformed the property into Pacific 19.
If you’re wondering, “Who exactly is Nine Brains?” so was I. According to its website, Nine Brains is a Hawaiʻi-focused hospitality investment firm that takes its name from the octopus, which has nine brains but one purpose. The company says it looks for properties with an “Authenticity of Place” rather than cookie-cutter hotels. Pacific 19 is its first publicly announced investment, but the team behind it brings decades of experience developing, operating, and investing in Hawaiʻi hospitality.
The purchase itself isn’t a huge surprise. Owning the land beneath a hotel is generally a better long-term position than leasing it, particularly in Hawaiʻi where fee-simple hotel opportunities are increasingly scarce.
One last thing. If anyone from Nine Brains happens to read this, you might want to have one of your nine brains take a look at your website. At the time we checked, it was showing as “Not Secure.” We are thinking maybe an expired SSL certificate. If you need some help, I know a guy.
