StarBulletin.com

Ko Olina retail outlets sign tenants


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POSTED: Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ko Olina Center and Ko Olina Station, the resort's first pair of stand-alone, mixed-use retail centers, are undergoing final touches and slated for completion next month.

The two-story retail centers, which offer about 56,000 square feet and mirror one another near the train tracks across the street from the Disney Resort at Ko Olina, already have signed on several tenants.

Wyland Grille is one of the anchors, with plans to open a two-level, 10,000-square-foot restaurant at Ko Olina Station, offering a menu of sustainable seafood, along with a gallery of the artists' works.

The restaurant, which includes a generous lanai looking over part of the golf course, would be the second Wyland Grille, in addition to one under construction at 280 Beach Walk in Waikiki.

Both are expected to open in the early or middle part of next year.

ABC Stores also has signed a lease for a 6,000-square-foot Country Market, an upscale version of its outlets, similar to the one it has at Queens' Marketplace on the Big Island. The store, also at Ko Olina Station, will offer an expansive deli and wine selection.

The Honu Group, Honolulu-based developers of 2100 Kalakaua in Waikiki as well as 280 Beach Walk, broke ground on the Ko Olina retail project early last year.

Honolulu Builders is building the project, while Eight Inc. designed Ko Olina Center and Ko Olina Station. The Beall Corp. is leasing the property.

Ko Olina Station is expected to be completed in early November, and Ko Olina Center by Thanksgiving. Tenants would then build out their spaces before opening.

Other tenants signed on for the Ko Olina project include Kimo Bean Coffee Co., Hawaiian Barbecue, The Shipping Shack, Just Tacos Grill & Cantina, Two Scoops (an ice cream shop), Roma Pizza and Walking in Paradise.

Ko Olina Center also will be home to The Resort Group's real estate offices.

Other possible tenants negotiating for space include swim and surfwear shops, dental and medical offices, jewelry shops, resort apparel and a hair salon.

Original plans included a gas station and Nick's Fishmarket, which are no longer part of the project.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, meanwhile, broke ground on 21 acres across the street last November and is under construction, with several cranes in the air. The resort, featuring 350 hotel rooms and 480 time-share villas for Disney Vacation Club members, is expected to be completed in 2011.