Shimogawa Scoops

Kmart is closing one of its last stores in Hawaii in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Published media reports say the Big Island store is expected to close this summer. The Kailua-Kona store’s closure is part of the latest round of about 40 store closures across the country. The closure leaves just the Kauai store in Lihue as the only Kmart store to be open in the Islands. The Sears-owned company has been on a downward spiral, as online retail giants like Amazon grab more and more retail market share throughout the years.

Avalon Development, a prominent Honolulu-based real estate company, is building a new 9,000-square-foot warehouse in Waipahu in Central Oahu. The warehouse fills a huge need for small-business spaces on Oahu. For instance, Hawaii has one the lowest industrial vacancy rates in the nation. The project, which is expected to start construction in December and be completed by June 2019, is being built on land owned by Robinson Estates Trust. Leasing of the warehouse, which could be divided into six different spaces, each totaling around 1,500 square feet, is currently taking place. To reserve your space in one of the only new warehouses being built on Oahu, call (808-369-1126) or email ( ds@avalonhi.com ) Avalon Commercial. Located on Leowahine Street between Farrington Highway and Waipahu Street, the warehouse is expected to occupied by a variety of businesses.

Host Hotels & Resorts, an owner of luxury hotels in the U.S. has paid $366 million for the 301-room Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort on Maui, public records show. The purchase is part of Host Hotel’s acquisition of three Hyatt-operated hotels for $1 billion. The other hotels are located in San Francisco and in Florida. The Maryland-based hotel company also owns three other hotels in Hawaii, including the Farimont Kea Lani on Maui, the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, according to its website. Hawaii hotels continue to attract strong interest from offshore investors, mainly because of the state’s strong tourism sector, which is on the way to topping the 10 million annual visitor mark. Expect to see continued interest in Hawaii hotels from offshore investors, with several hotels on the market across the state.

A long-planned affordable housing project in West Oahu is scheduled to start construction this month and be completed by late 2019, Shimogawa Scoops has learned. Liz Char of Michaels Development Co., the developer of the project, said recently in public documents that the project, which is located on state-owned property along Keahumoa Parkway in Ewa Beach, will include one, two and three-bedroom apartment units. This project has been in the works since 2014, and will be available for families who are making 100 percent area median income. There also are units that will be available for those making 30 percent AMI. The 320-unit project is scheduled to be completed in December 2019.

Ledcor Group, a diversified construction company with corporate offices in Canada and in San Diego has been revealed as the surprise buyer of former Men’s Warehouse CEO George Zimmer’s Big Island of Hawaii estate, Shimogawa Scoops has confirmed. Ledcor Group purchased the 8-acre oceanfront estate for just a shade under $18 million, public records show. The property is located on the northwestern side of the Big Island. The property had been on the market for several years but became expendable after Zimmer purchased legendary musician Neil Young’s nearby property. Ledcor, which was founded almost seven decades ago in Canada, has offices scattered throughout Canada and the U.S. including an office in Hawaii, according to its website.

The Marukai Wholesale Mart in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kalihi is expanding by more than 20,000-square-feet of space. The popular Japanese store, which sells groceries and other items, is the only one of its kind in Hawaii after its other store recently closed at Ward Village in Kakaako. Located along Kamehameha Highway, the store’s owner is requesting its 22,515-square-foot expansion through the Honolulu Liquor Commission. The store may expand its mauka side footprint. The expansion makes plenty of sense considering how busy it already is and the fact that it is now its lone location in the Islands.

The Sake Shop is opening a new location in the growing Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako. The popular sake shop, which sells many items not found in other stores, closed its original location on King Street in Moiliili. The Sake Shop joins the Kakaako Wine & Sake Shop in the popular neighborhood that’s sandwiched between downtown and Waikiki.  Its new location is near Logos Bookstore and Cooke Street Diner. The move to the area is a smart one considering the massive growth of the area with hundreds of new residents moving into several new high-rise condominiums being built or already built in the neighborhood.