Alexander & Baldwin Buys Honolulu Industrial/Office Building for $39M; Lahaina Cannery Mall Sells for $58.5M

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

In a $39 million deal, Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has acquired Kakaako Commerce Center, a seven-story warehouse and office building in downtown Honolulu.

According to the Pacific Business News, the company paid $39 million for the 204,000-square-foot property located between Waimanu and Kawaiahao streets. The building features five floors of warehouse space, topped by a sixth floor of office space and a seventh-floor parking deck.

The seller was California real estate investment firm F&F Waimanu Associates LLC, which was formed by Fowler Property Acquisitions LLC. The company bought the asset for $15.9 million in 2003.

A&B now plans to operate the property as industrial space.

“The investment in Kakaako Commerce Center expands our commercial portfolio focus on Hawaii,” Suzy Hollinger, spokeswoman for A&B, told the newspaper in an email statement. “Kakaako is an increasingly supply-constrained market, given the conversion of commercial properties to residential development.”

Joe Leonardo of Honolulu-based Joseph C. Leonardo & Co. brokered the transaction for both the buyer and seller.

According to Leonardo, Kakaako is the California Gold Rush. “That is where to place your money. I think it’s a stable asset that just has a great deal of opportunity now and in the future. The overall market for quality product is just extremely hard to find. There are, right now, more buyers than sellers. Kakaako is really just the place to be,” he said.

In regional news, the Pacific Business News reports that Safeway’s subsidiary, California-based Property Development Centers LLC, paid $58.5 million for the acquisition of the Safeway-anchored Lahaina Cannery Mall on Maui.

Located at the corner of Honoapiilani Highway and Kapunakea Street, the 15-acre, 130,599-square-foot mall has been open since 1987. Its new owner plans to demolish and redevelop about half of the property.

About a year ago, Property Development Centers purchased a 24.5-acre parcel of land on Maui from Alexander & Baldwin Inc., currently the site of the Target-anchored Puunene Shopping Center, which is nearing completion.

Photo credit: www.paradise-found-in-maui.com

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