Kmart scraps Another attempt to develop the 11-acre vacant Keeaumoku superblock has fallen through, with bankrupt retailer Kmart Corp. saying its plans for a $50 million store at the site was too much at the wrong time.
superblock venture
The bankrupt retailer says
now is the wrong time to build
a store at the Keeaumoku siteBy Tim Ruel
truel@starbulletin.com"Given the current state of our business and the fact we are reorganizing under Chapter 11, we felt that a project of this size was not in the best interest of the company," Kmart spokeswoman Julie Fracker said. "It was certainly a big project."
Kmart received bankruptcy court approval a week ago to cancel an agreement to buy the superblock from the Wichman Family Trust, following a March 11 motion by Kmart to terminate the agreement.
The Kapiolani-area block is bordered by Keeaumoku, Rycroft, Sheridan and Makaloa streets.
Kmart announced plans to build the 175,000-square-foot store at the superblock in September. The store would employ up to 500 people and include retail space for stores like Jamba Juice and Starbucks, Kmart said at the time.
After the embattled retailer filed bankruptcy in January, Kmart said it would review all plans for new stores. This year, Kmart is building just one store, and expanding six others, Fracker said. Meanwhile, the retailer is closing 283 underperforming stores, none of which are in Hawaii, and cutting 22,000 jobs.
In the past decade, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and residential developer Haseko (Hawaii) Inc. have announced major plans for developments at the superblock. But the purchase price for the land, estimated at $30 million by real estate observers, has proved prohibitive.