The level of interest being shown for the available commercial spaces at Kukui Grove Center puts Wade Lord in the position of being able to choose suitable tenants. Possibly for the first time in the history of the 14-year-old center,
The level of interest being shown for the available commercial spaces at Kukui Grove Center puts Wade Lord in the position of being able to choose suitable tenants.
Possibly for the first time in the history of the 14-year-old center, mall management has the ability to decide on a tenant mix to best suit both visitor and resident shoppers from a rather long list of interested tenants, said Lord, center asset manager.
Lease activity is going pretty much according to schedule, with leasing agents regularly showing commercial spaces to a variety of interested potential tenants, he said.
And while he wouldn’t speculate about conditions at the mall if Steve Case, founder of America Online, hadn’t bought the center along with all of Grove Farm Company and infused millions of dollars into improvements at the center, Lord is happy to be in the position of having several suitable potential tenants for the existing un-leased commercial space.
“This is a center that the community loves and feels ownership of,” said Lord.
“I’m thankful to ownership” for recognizing that community affinity, “and thankful to be part of the renaissance” of Kukui Grove Center, he said.
Officially opening at the center this week are Quiznos, an much-anticipated, national sandwich shop (this Thursday, April 15), and Nextel, a cellular-communications provider opening its first dedicated Kaua‘i store (this Saturday, April 17).
The Nextel grand opening is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and offers prizes via random drawings to all who enter, and gifts for those making purchases.
Under construction is a new store for Otsuka’s, scheduled to open Saturday, May 1. Blockbuster Video leaders have signed a lease, with construction to start soon and an opening date within the next 90 days, he said.
Construction is expected to begin soon on a UPS (United Parcel Service) store, to be located next to Beneficial Finance on the Nawiliwili Road side of the mall, Lord said.
The UPS store has no opening date yet, and Lord will know more when he receives construction plans from UPS representatives, he said.
Negotiations are ongoing between center managers and representatives of a large restaurant chain based on O‘ahu, whose owners have eyes on an improved, large space in the same building housing Starbucks and Jamba Juice, he said.
Lord expects the lease to be signed within the next 30 days for the 100-seat restaurant, which will also offer takeout food. That eatery could open near the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of this year, he said.
In the building that now houses American Savings, negotiations are under way between center managers and representatives of two national chains, which Lord would not name nor mention the kinds of goods or services they offer.
Across Kalepa Street at Kukui Grove Village West, where Home Depot is the major business, there also continues to be regular inquiries about commercial space for sale there, he said.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
