Alexander & Baldwin Pays $90M for Hawaii Retail Asset

Queens’ MarketPlace. Image courtesy of Alexander & Baldwin

Alexander & Baldwin has acquired Queens’ MarketPlace in the Waikoloa Beach Resort on the island of Hawaii. The 135,000-square-foot grocery-anchored resort retail center changed hands for $90 million.

The center, completed in 2007 by Waikoloa Land Co., is anchored by the 24,000-square-foot Island Gourmet Market. Queens’ MarketPlace’s tenant roster also includes Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Sansei Seafood, Steak & Sushi Bar and numerous specialty retailers.

Located at 69-201 Waikoloa Beach Drive in Waikoloa Village, the property is enhanced by fountains, koi ponds & entertainment. The center is situated 18 miles north of Kona International Airport and is a popular destination for residents and visitors of the Kohala Coast.

Strategy in the 50th state

A&B calls Hawaii home and has a long history in the state with retail centers. The company currently manages and operates nearly 3.8 million square feet of primarily retail and industrial space on the island. A&B now has more than 291,000 square feet of retail space on the Big Island, including the 73,200-square-foot Honokohau Industrial Park, located at 74589 Honokohau St. in Kailua, and the 83,300-square-foot Lanihau Center, located at 75-5595 Palani Road in Kailua.

In February 2018, A&B acquired three retail centers in Hawaii from Terramar Retail Centers for $254 million: Laulani Village Shopping Center, Hokulei Village Shopping Center and Pu`unene Shopping Center. But the company doesn’t only deal in Hawaii. In September, Alexander & Baldwin purchased a two-story, 147,000-square-foot building in Issaquah, Wash., for $19.7 million.  

There’s a lot of activity throughout the Hawaiian Islands. According to Colliers International’s fourth-quarter 2018 Oahu retail market report, the retail market there saw more than 2.1 million square feet of new tenancy boosting its market, and occupancy increased for the eighth-straight year.

Three centers in Oahu—Ala Moana Center, International Market Place and Ka Makana Alii—combined to add more than 1.4 million square feet of new retail inventory since 2015.