HONOLULU -- Controversial developer Genshiro Kawamoto on Monday shocked neighbors with a massive transformation of Kahala Avenue properties.

The Japanese billionaire joked about getting as tanned as Hawaiians, as he spent the day out in the hot sun.

He shifted between using a blue Halekulani hotel umbrella as a shield from the sun, and then as a pointer to direct work crews where to plant bougainvillea along Kahala Avenue.

The controversial developer who spoke through an interpreter said, “This is the way I wants to make the rest of my homes with dynamic improvements.”

Workmen said Kawamoto bought 500 plants from Nii Nursery in Hawaii Kai. He also brought in truckloads of dirt and began trying his hand at landscape architecture.

This was in sharp contrast to the bulldozed homes and swimming pools filled in with rocks and dirt that for years Kahala residents criticized him for.

“If he restores the property, and maintains them, and he rehabilitates the property then that’s what we would like. We just want him to be a good neighbor,” said Kahala resident and former neighborhood board chairman, Richard Turbin.

Kawamoto has been at odds with the Kahala neighborhood board. Residents complained that he let his homes fall into disrepair which affecting property values.

Earlier this summer Kawamoto put more than a dozen homes up for sale. Cedric Choi, of Choi International says, so far only two of the multimillion-dollar luxury homes have sold.

The city said the fines against Kawamoto began mounting when he failed to respond to earlier violation notices.

Kawamoto finally began cleaning up his properties after the city threatened to file tax liens on the homes.

On Monday, Kawamoto said he wanted to create a museum at a home he recently purchased. The two-story home at 4663 Kahala Avenue would house his extensive European art collection, which is currently in Japan. It is an idea Kawamoto floated several years ago.

This latest apparent change of heart about beautifying his properties, and now this renewed interest in a museum, is certainly giving Kahala residents something to talk about.