{"id":1210,"date":"2026-06-11T09:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1210"},"modified":"2026-06-11T09:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:05:51","slug":"historic-queen-theater-in-kaimuki-for-sale-after-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1210","title":{"rendered":"Historic Queen Theater in Kaimuki for sale after 50+ years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The historic Queen Theater property in Kaimuki is officially on the market.<\/p>\n

Read more Tickets go on sale for Disney\u2019s live-action \u2018Moana\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the first time the theater has been brought to market in more than 50 years, according to listing agent CBRE.<\/p>\n

The building was originally constructed in 1936 and sits on a 10,396-square-foot parcel along Waialae Avenue.<\/p>\n

The 850-seat theater hasn\u2019t been in operation in decades, and community advocates have been pushing for its restoration for years.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting,\u201d said Kaimuki Neighborhood Board member Becky Gardner. \u201cThis is something the community\u2019s been working on for quite a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBRE said the property is being offered fee simple and as-is. The company did not include a listing price in its announcement.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s latest assessment valued the land at just over $2.8 million and the building for just $459,300.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Queen Theater has been a fixture on Waialae Avenue for nearly 90 years, and opportunities to acquire fee simple control of a property like this in Kaimuki simply don\u2019t come around,\u201d CBRE\u2019s Matthew McKeever said in a release.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be nice if you could get it for a good price and put a two-story building and have a great retail center or great restaurants because we can always use good restaurants in a place where we can all gather,\u201d said veteran real estate expert Stephany Sofos.<\/p>\n

Gardner has been working for years to get the owners, the Yu family, to sell or improve the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way it just felt like we were getting played,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd now it seems like we can go here and watch a play. You know, it\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Essential health services to be distributed across Hawaii Island<\/a><\/p>\n

The city council pushed in November 2024 to have the city acquire the property, through eminent domain, if necessary.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Queen Theater is a community treasure and neighborhood landmark,\u201d City Council Chair Tommy Waters said in a statement. \u201cThough it has sat inactive and in disrepair for decades, the Kaimuki community has never stopped believing it can be restored as a gathering place that reflects the neighborhood\u2019s character and supports the revitalization of the Kaimuki business district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just last week, the city council approved up to $4 million to purchase the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the City is unable to acquire it, I hope any new owner will listen to the community, honor that vision, and become a true partner to the neighborhood,\u201d Waters said.<\/p>\n

While many in the community want to keep the familiar landmark facade, Sofos said the building will have to be torn down because of asbestos and other issues.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThen what are you going to build, another three-story center for the arts? That\u2019s going to cost you, at 15,000 square feet or 20,000 square feet — that\u2019s another $10 million,\u201d Sofos said.<\/p>\n

However, there remains optimism that someone will purchase the property and improve it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new owner, hopefully, will keep the history in mind and the will of the community in mind,\u201d said Gardner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere might be someone out there, a developer who says \u2018I\u2019ve got to be in Kaimuki, I have to bring it to the community. I\u2019m going to build a new structure to revitalize this community,\u2019\u201d said Sofos.<\/p>\n

Read more SPAM teams up with Hello Kitty for \u2018the cutest collab\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The building was originally constructed in 1936 on Waialae Avenue, and hasn\u2019t been in operation in decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHistoric Queen Theater in Kaimuki for sale after 50+ years - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1210\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Historic Queen Theater in Kaimuki for sale after 50+ years - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The building was originally constructed in 1936 on Waialae Avenue, and hasn\u2019t been in operation in decades.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1210\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T09:05:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1210#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1210\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Historic Queen Theater in Kaimuki for sale after 50+ years\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T09:05:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1210\"},\"wordCount\":571,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1210#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d4edcebec9dcced64561f1a39433671e.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1210#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1210\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1210\",\"name\":\"Historic Queen Theater in Kaimuki for sale after 50+ years - 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