HILO — Ownership of the Puna Kai shopping center property in Pahoa is expected to change hands this week, and the new owner says construction will begin within days.
“We expect to be closed on it this month and start construction the first of August,” said Gary Pinkston, who said he will be the sole owner after the property sale closes.
The planned shopping center, 15-2714 Pahoa Village Road at cross-street Kahakai Boulevard, is expected to take a year to build on the 9.93-acre property.
Plans call for the boulevard to be extended to provide better access to “a distinctive blend of daily services, specialty shops, entertainment and eateries.” The property is being purchased from early project developer, Hilo-based BT Kuwahara, LLC.
The old-Hawaii design of the shopping center is meant to help shoppers feel at ease, Pinkston said, noting that a 10-foot overhang on “clusters” of buildings will allow customers to stroll comfortably store to store — rain or shine.
Construction was originally slated to begin in March, but permit delays scooted the timeframe to June — and the property purchase process further delayed construction until August.
Anchor tenant Malama Market, which plans to relocate from its current Pahoa location, should still be set to open a 35,000-square-foot grocery store in the shopping center by summer 2018, Pinkston said.
Construction estimates and start dates for large construction projects of this type often evolve due to unforeseen hurdles, such as weather, permit delays and inspections.
But Pinkston said Hilo contractor Goodfellow Bros. has already begun initial preparations, installed a water tank and will begin construction of the shopping center next week, including a $2.5 million sewer plant for the approximately $40 million project.
“I will be the owner, and we’ll be moving along very rapidly once we get this closed,” Pinkston said in a telephone interview Wednesday. Goodfellow Bros. did not reply to an inquiry seeking comment for this article.
Confirmed tenants of the shopping center, in addition to Foodland-owned Malama Market, include Aloha Petroleum, Starbucks, McDonald’s, a tax preparer and an area pizzeria. Still in negotiations are Walgreens and Dunkin’ Donuts, Pinkston said.
Tenants he’s confident will sign, plus those already confirmed, mean the shopping center is already the equivalent of “at least 80 percent leased, which is remarkable when we haven’t started construction,” he said.
Pinkston is president of Meridian Pacific Ltd., a real estate development company that also plans construction of a similar project, the Waikoloa Towncenter, in Waikoloa Village. Meridian Pacific has a 98 percent occupancy rate on 1 million square feet of retail properties, including several in Hawaii, California and Nevada.
Pinkston said zoning requires wooden doors and windows at the Puna Kai shopping center, to maintain Pahoa’s historic look. But he’s concerned that wood will not last long and hopes regulators will allow more-costly — but longer-lasting — composite materials to be used instead.
Mayor Harry Kim cheered the expected start of construction, and the jobs that will come with it, as a much-needed boost to Puna.
“That’s where I was born and raised. I love seeing this growth,” he said.
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
