Developers plan large
office and shopping
complex in Ewa

West Oahu's widening residential base has spurred a joint venture between a mainland developer and a kamaaina company that could result in Ewa's largest retail and office complex.

The project, Laulani Village, was announced yesterday by San Francisco-based Bristol Group, the national real estate investment and development firm that built the downtown Alii Place, and Hawaiian Asset Management and Investments Corp., known as HAMICO.

Laulani Village will be built on a 20-acre site at the corner of bustling Fort Weaver Road and the soon-to-be constructed Keaunui Street. Laulani Village LLC bought the property in November for $12 million from Aina Nui Corp., a property development arm of the Campbell Estate, records show.

Design plans for the center are still under consideration, but the first phase should be completed in 2007 with a full build out achieved before the end of 2008, said Jeff Kott, a principal at Bristol Group.

"Ewa is a growing residential area that we think is underserved," Kott said."

West Oahu's phenomenal population growth and strong demographics are driving the project, Kott said. While Honolulu's population was shrinking, West Oahu's base grew 89 percent from 1990 to 2000.

"There's a critical mass of residential development out there," Kott said.

During the past decade, investors have poured $3 billion into West Oahu, which includes Waipahu, Ewa, Ewa Beach, Makakilo, Kapolei, Nanakuli, Waianae and Makaha.

"Our goal is to create a vibrant and exciting downtown core for the Ewa community," said Art Howard, president and chief executive of HAMICO. The company's affiliates own more than 800,000 square feet of retail and office space in Hawaii.

The plans for Laulani Village have not been presented to the Ewa Neighborhood Board, but vice chairman Kurt Fevella said he would support it if the design addressed the heavy traffic on Fort Weaver Road and if the project created more jobs and shopping options for residents.

"This is a huge thing for Ewa," Fevella said. "Right now, we have to drive to Waipahu or Kapolei if we want to do some serious shopping. It would be nice if it were a little like Waikele."

Developers have declined to estimate the potential square footage of the project. Based on the size of the property, development could be as large as 200,000 to 250,000 square feet, said Mike Hamasu, director of consulting research for the commercial real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander.

That's more than double the size of the circa 1960s Ewa Beach Shopping Center, which is anchored by Star Markets, and the Ewa Town Center, which was built in 1999 and is anchored by Foodland, he said.

"Based on the acreage, they'll have a lot of development options," Hamasu said.