Penney store space sold
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i retailer Inspiration Furniture will take control of the department store space at Pearlridge Center to be vacated by J.C. Penney Co. in January, as part of a deal announced yesterday.
Inspiration purchased the two-level, 130,000-square-foot anchor spot from Kin Properties, a Florida company that owned and was leasing the mall space to J.C. Penney.
The store is the third of four J.C. Penney locations to change hands in Hawai'i since the department store chain announced last month that it would close stores at Pearlridge, Ala Moana and Hilo on Jan. 10.
The J.C. Penney lease at Ala Moana Center was acquired by mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. The Hilo store, a space J.C. Penney owned at Prince Kuhio Plaza, was sold to General Growth, which owns the rest of that mall.
J.C. Penney has not yet said what it plans to do with the Maui store at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center.
Although future use of the J.C. Penney space at Pearlridge is still undetermined, its acquisition gives Inspiration control of shaping the tenant mix at the state's second-largest mall.
Thomas Sorensen, Inspiration owner, said he is considering a variety of options for the space, including using a portion of the second level to relocate his nearby Inspiration showroom. He also can envision a Mainland big-box retailer moving in, or perhaps breaking up the space for several smaller tenants.
"It has come up real, real fast ... we have not spoken to anybody," Sorensen said.
Marty Lastner, Pearlridge general manager, said yesterday that it was premature to comment.
Sorensen had been subleasing a former J.C. Penney automotive services building in the upper-level Pearlridge parking lot outside the main J.C. Penney store, where he established Inspiration in 1997.
Sorensen said that when J.C. Penney announced plans to close, he contacted Kin Properties about buying the 22,000-square-foot Inspiration building, and that led to an offer for the building plus the J.C. Penney space inside the mall.
Sorensen declined to disclose the purchase price, but Kin had listed its entire Pearlridge property package for $1.75 million.
Sorensen is also developing a 160,000-square-foot home- and office-design center on Kapi'olani Boulevard.
The $25 million complex, not yet under construction, would house a 50,000-square-foot Inspiration gallery. It is anticipated to be built and open by the end of next year.
Tenants being sought in that project have included Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and Linens 'n Things, according to the Kaka'ako Improvement Association. Though no prospective tenants have been announced officially, Sorensen said he can now offer a location at Pearlridge.
"It creates a synergy," he said. "There are a lot of options."
As for the sites at Ala Moana and Prince Kuhio Plaza, General Growth yesterday said it is still studying its options for using the J.C. Penney spaces.
The company has long desired to provide Nordstrom with space for a full-line department store at Ala Moana, but is also considering carving up the space for several retailers.
On Maui, Scott Crockford, real property vice president for Ka'ahumanu Center general partner Maui Land & Pineapple Co., said negotiations were still continuing regarding the long-term future of J.C. Penney at the mall.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
