A&B buys Napili Plaza
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc. continued its Hawai'i real estate investment run yesterday, acquiring the Napili Plaza shopping center for $7.1 million from Maui Land & Pineapple Co.
The 45,200-square-foot neighborhood center between Ka'anapali and Kapalua in West Maui is the sixth local real estate investment or acquisition by A&B in 14 months, giving the company nine retail properties in the state.
A&B has spent approximately $235 million on the six purchases, including five golf courses and related property on Maui and Kaua'i being acquired from Shinwa Golf Group in a deal expected to close in October.
Stan Kuriyama, chief executive officer of A&B subsidiary A&B Properties Inc., said Napili Plaza is the first income-generating property for the company in the Napili-Kapalua resort area. He said the acquisition diversifies the company's land base beyond Central and Upcountry Maui.
A&B is a major Maui landowner, with about 15 properties, including Maui Business Park, residential subdivision projects, Maui Mall, Kahului Shopping Center and several office buildings.
Real estate brokerage firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander, which represented seller Maui Land & Pine, identified A&B as a likely buyer for Napili Plaza early on in the sales process.
"They aggressively pursued the property, and it never even hit the market," said Douglas Pothul, Colliers senior vice president.
"It's a high-quality retail asset in a growing community."
The retail center, developed in 1991 by Maui Land & Pine, is 75 percent occupied, with 19 tenants, including Napili Market, First Hawaiian Bank, Maui Tacos and Maui Ribs & Rotisserie.
According to Maui Land & Pine, the retail center is a source of operating profit, though sales declined 5 percent last year, the second consecutive annual decrease.
Maui Land & Pine is in the midst of exiting the retail center business and has a deal to sell Maui's largest shopping mall, Queen Ka'ahumanu Center, in escrow with California-based Somera Investment Partners LLC. That sale is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
Both Maui Land & Pine and A&B are publicly owned companies with diversified operations in real estate development and agriculture.
In the past four years, A&B has made 17 acquisitions of Hawai'i real estate for nearly $300 million.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
