20 Maui properties
put on blockLahaina Cannery Mall is among the
sites listed by Hawaii Omori Corp.
Twenty commercial and residential Maui properties, including Lahaina Cannery Mall, are being put on the selling block by Hawaii Omori Corp.
The holdings represent Hawaii Omori's entire real estate portfolio and are the latest additions to what is becoming a flooded Maui commercial real estate market. Maui Land & Pineapple Co. currently has two shopping centers in the process of being sold.
A Hawaii Omori official said 45-year-low interest rates, combined with Maui's popularity, contributed to the decision to empty the portfolio.
"We decided that it was the right time to sell," said Susumi "Rick" Nitadori, Omori's executive vice president.
Hawaii Omori built the 120,000-square-foot Lahaina Cannery Mall in 1986 for $16 million. The mall is anchored by Longs Drug Store and Safeway. Other properties that Hawaii Omori is selling include the West Maui Center, an office and warehouse complex in Lahaina that Hawaii Omori built in 1977 for $1 million; the Cannery Commercial Center; and the grounds of Old Lahaina Luau. In addition to nine commercial properties in its portfolio, it is selling six ocean-front homes in Lahaina.
CB Richard Ellis, which is managing and preparing the properties for sale, will begin offering them to buyers next month.
"This is a very unique opportunity as these are valuable Lahaina locations in a market that continues to attract a high level of interest from local and off-shore investors," said CB Richard Ellis Senior Vice President Scott Gomes, who is the team director for the project. "We're seeing increased interest in Maui, both within Hawaii and internationally."
Marty Plotnick, president of Honolulu-based marketing research company Creative Resources Inc., said the influx of commercial property on the Maui market could end up having an adverse effect.
"What concerns me with that much commercial property going on the market at the same time is it switches from a sellers' market to a buyers' market," Plotnick said. "And, specifically with the commercial property being on the market, just how many viable commercial and retail tenants are you going to attract to get a return on your investment?
"That's been the biggest problem in Hawaii for 10 years. You can buy all the buildings and warehouses in the world, but without tenants, what are you going to do?"
Maui Land & Pineapple announced in May it had a letter of intent to sell Kahului's Queen Kaahumanu Center, the largest retail and entertainment center on Maui.
The center is owned by Kaahumanu Center Associates, a 50-50 partnership between Maui Land & Pineapple, the general partner, and the state's Employees' Retirement System, the limited partner.
Last month, MLP said it also had reached agreement to sell Napili Plaza in West Maui, and that it expects the deal to close at the end of this month. The closing date for Queen Kaahumanu Center is uncertain.