KAHULUI - Soft real estate market or not, Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is going ahead with the first phase of its Kahului revitalization development, and it will open a sales information center Friday at Maui Mall.
A&B Properties Vice President Grant Chun said Monday that permits are expected to be issued by year's end and construction should begin early next year for Aina o Kane, the mainly residential portion of an even larger project that will stretch from Queen Ka'ahumanu Center to the Maui Mall. The first part of Kahului Town Center looks as though it will follow Aina o Kane by eight to 12 months.
Last year, A&B had planned to finish phase one of Aina o Kane this year and have phase one of Kahului Town Center (the old Kahului Shopping Center) done by mid-2011.
Chun said delays in getting permits rather than financial considerations delayed the project by about one year.
There are some reservations already taken for the 42 condominiums in Aina o Kane but none so far for the 14,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space.
Eventually, a pedestrian street will stretch from Kane Street to Maui Mall, as a new community rises on and around the Kahului Shopping Center, half of which was destroyed by fire in February 2005. The street pattern will revert to what it was when Kahului Village existed, before the shopping center was opened in 1951.
"There is a certain commitment to our buyers and an overriding interest in exercising stewardship in our community," said Chun about proceeding into a weak real estate environment.
A&B intends the remaking of its historic core of Kahului to rejuvenate and modernize an area that was outmoded even before the fire more than four years ago. Phase one of Aina o Kane is only about one-tenth of the whole project, which will have 442 dwellings, 140,000 square feet of retail space and 156,000 square feet of office space (including the existing Kahului Building).
As a concession to declining real estate values, A&B has trimmed its asking prices, but Chun said the developer has not reduced the scale or fittings of the condos, which will have separate dining and living areas, an open kitchen design, all-wood cabinetry, granite countertops, quality appliances, designer fixtures and faucets, ceramic tile flooring and gracious lanais.
Although the development is designed to encourage walking, each condo has two assigned parking stalls. A&B describes the residences as unassuming yet stylish, comfortable yet contemporary.
Prices start at $320,800 for an 814-square-foot, two-bedroom dwelling. Chun said construction costs have decreased, which helped support the project despite the slackening demand.
The asking prices have been lowered by an average of more than $10,000 per unit since the initial offering.
The ground floors, called the Professional Plaza, are to be sold in fee simple. Occupancy is expected by mid-2011.
Prudential Locations Maui is the exclusive project broker. The sales office will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, visit abprop.com/properties/?id=17 or call 877-4141.
* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.
