The extension, which includes a traffic light on Nimitz Highway, is part of a master plan to improve the street system and open up land for development in Iwilei. Motorists now can make a left or right turn at the intersection next to the Weyerhauser Co. building.
Castle & Cooke paid $2.5 million for the 60-foot-wide and 800-foot-long extension and landscaping.
The roadwork also enables Castle & Cooke to begin leasing efforts for 11 acres of property zoned for commercial, light industry, retail or office use.
"We've been working on the road for the past four years as part of our master plan," said Lucien Wong, president, commercial division of Castle & Cooke Properties Inc. "We spent $3 million to demolish 12 old warehouses. After the road work we were left with two 5-acre parcels and one 1-1/2-acre parcel. We will be leasing those through CB Commercial and CBI Commercial Real Estate."
Wong said the property could be desirable for companies that need warehouse space and want to be close to the Hawaii Convention Center, or that want to develop their own free-standing building.
Castle & Cooke started with 45 acres at Iwilei and used much of it for the Dole Cannery retail office complex, parking and road work.
Wong said there still is another 236,000 square feet of old warehouse space to be demolished after the 11 acres is leased.
He noted the road extension is the first major street project in Iwilei, but more improvements will be coming through the Iwilei Business Community Association.
Mike Huddleston, association president and general manager of Kmart, said, "We're going to give the area a face-lift."
"We've got city approval for a little park behind the Salvation Army and IHS (Institute for Human Services) and we will start work on that in the next month."