Since anything with a for-sale sign on it seems to be gobbled up in record time on this island, it should come as no surprise that there are several interested, motivated, capable buyers for the Kaua’i Village shopping center in
Since anything with a for-sale sign on it seems to be gobbled up in record time on this island, it should come as no surprise that there are several interested, motivated, capable buyers for the Kaua’i Village shopping center in Waipouli.
With anchor tenants like Safeway Stores and Longs Drug Stores and a mix of restaurants, jewelry and art shops that draw in residents and visitors along the crowded Coconut Coast resort area, the mall really sells itself.
As soon as representatives of current owner Passco Companies LLC announced they had retained officials at REZA Investment Group Inc. to market the third-largest shopping center on Kaua’i (behind Kukui Grove Center and Coconut Marketplace), a spokesperson at REZA confirmed that there are interested buyers lining up.
Desiree Hernandez, director of marketing for REZA Investment Group, yesterday confirmed by telephone from Irvine, Calif., that company officials are “waiting for final offers to come in.”
If it sells this year, it will be the second time in three years that the mall will have been sold. The original owners and developers, Kauai Village Associates, sold the center for $26.9 million in July 2004.
The development group included Peter Alevizos of Florida, who at one time lived part-time on Kaua’i, and owned a condominium at what is now the Aston at Makahuena in Po’ipu.
Involved in the development from the start also was Wade Lord, who at one time managed both Kaua’i Village and Kukui Grove Center, but now manages just Kukui Grove Center.
Kaua’i Village shopping center opened in 1990, and has around 113,000 square feet of leasable space. Officials with CB Richard Ellis Hawaii Inc. manage the facility.
In a press release, Passco Companies LLC is described by REZA officials as “an industry pioneer in TIC (tenants in common) and 1031 transactions.”
Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Wyland Galleries, Panda Express, Cold Stone Creamery, the Kauai Children’s Discovery Museum, Ba-Le Sandwich Shop, Wyland Galleries, Papaya’s Natural Food & Cafe, and many others are tenants in Kaua’i Village, which with the notable exception of the former A Pacific Cafe-Kauai location is nearly 100 percent occupied.
REZA’s leader agreed with Hernandez that the Hawai’i and Kaua’i markets remain extremely attractive to would-be buyers large and small.
“The Hawaiian economy continues to be strong, and investors worldwide consider the islands to be one of the world’s most-sought-after locations,” said Reza Etedali, chief executive officer of REZA Investment Group Inc.
“Kaua’i Village is a one-of-kind property in a one-of-a-kind market,” Etedali said.
Etedali and company focus exclusively on retail investors and their specialized assets, and have a transaction history that ranges from high-profile malls to neighborhood shopping centers, Etedali said.
In the course of full disclosure on the part of the seller and due diligence on the part of would-be buyers, of course it will be recorded somewhere that the new owner is still responsible for building a pedestrian footbridge over the Uhelekawawa Canal between the Waipoili Town Center and Kaua’i Village shopping center.
Construction of the pedestrian bridge was a requirement for developers of a 100-unit residential subdivision that was planned for the area where the Kaua’i Village shopping center clock tower sits today.
The residential project never became a reality, however, the condition for construction of the bridge remains on the books, county officials said.
The current owners of Kaua’i Village shopping center wished to have the condition removed, citing the fact that a new bridge on Kuhio Highway between the two centers has ample space for pedestrians.
That request to remove the footbridge condition is pending before county officials, who at one point in time were pressing the current owner to construct the bridge as a way to encourage walking instead of driving between the two malls.
For more information on REZA, see the Web site, www.rezacompanies.com.
