LIHUE Just like the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on the Westside has been a magnet for high-technology companies whose representatives wish to do business with the federal government, so has the under-construction Home Depot store
LIHUE Just like the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on the Westside has been a magnet for high-technology companies whose representatives wish to do business with the federal government, so has the under-construction Home Depot store in Kukui Grove Village West here drawn increased interest in nearby, undeveloped commercial lots.
While the massive Home Depot location (119,000 square feet of store space on a 10-acre parcel) isn’t scheduled to open until October, the fact that it is coming has increased interest in the 39 available commercial lots in Kukui Grove Village West, near Home Depot, the Dynasty Court complex and the building housing Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, according to Wade Lord, general manager of nearby Kukui Grove Center.
“With the entry of Home Depot and the traffic, the customer base that will be frequenting that area, we believe that those remaining vacant parcels will start to lease out,” he said.
“I do know that there’s been quite a bit of interest and activity. I can’t tell you whether any of them are leased out or done, because they’re in various stages of discussions,” he said.
While some people are predicting the death of Kukui Grove Center as its shoppers flock to Home Depot once it opens, Lord thinks the arrival of Home Depot will only enhance sales and traffic at Kukui Grove Center.
“Are they going to attract other businesses, or customers, or both?” he asked. “Both” was his answer.
Finishing up work on the roads and Puakea Golf Course around Home Depot, and having “things working out like they were planned to,” have Kukui Grove Village West emerging as a desired commercial location, said Allan A. Smith, vice president and chief operating officer of Grove Farm Company, Inc.
Grove Farm, owned by Steve Case, founder of America Online (AOL), owns most of the land surrounding the Home Depot location. A residential subdivision is planned across Nuhou Street from Home Depot.
The coming of Home Depot has generated increased inquiries about availability of nearby, commercial-zoned lots, Smith concurred.
While carpenters, contractors and do-it-yourselfers are generally eagerly awaiting the opening of Home Depot, not all people are enamored with the store’s coming. Some people fear that its arrival signals departure of Kauai’s rural character.
Business Editor Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
