When Host Hotels & Resorts bought Turtle Bay for $680 million in 2024, they weren’t just acquiring a trophy resort; they were buying expansion rights. Host reportedly paid an extra $50 million for a 49-acre parcel of “entitled” land approved for a few hundred additional rooms. Adding that many luxury keys would be a massive financial win for the REIT, but building in 2026 based on a 2013 environmental study is a bold strategy. The City determined the 375-room proposal fit within the scope of a larger 530-unit build-out analyzed in the 2013 EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and concluded no further review was required. This month, community group Kūpaʻa Kuilima filed to stop the expansion. That $50 million “entitlement” may prove more complicated than originally bargained for.
Utah-based Arete Collective snagged a separate 65-acre parcel nearby for $43 million. They are already moving forward with “The North Shore Club,” a low-rise resort residential development with roughly 100 units in the early phases and plans for a 250-unit condo hotel down the road.
Since we love back-of-the-envelope math, here it is: the previous owners, Blackstone, purchased the property in 2018 for $332 million and poured a massive $250 million into renovations. Even after that quarter-billion-dollar spend, they exited in 2024 with approximately $768 million in total proceeds, roughly $186 million in profit. Not a bad payday, especially considering they passed the inevitable legal wrangling to the new buyers.
Blackstone did the heavy lifting on the renovations and timed the exit well. Now Host and Arete have to convince a North Shore community that “Keep the Country, Country” can coexist with a few hundred new keys.
