Posted on: Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Upscale mall on Maui has been for sale since March
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Chicago-based shopping center owner General Growth Properties is assuming management of Whalers Village on Maui in what could be a prelude to purchasing the Ka'anapali ocean-front resort mall.
Advertiser library photo • 2001 The estate in March notified Whalers Village tenants that it intended to seek a buyer for the center, but McMurdo said she could not comment on that effort. A General Growth spokesman yesterday said officials who would know about any plans for Whalers Village could not be reached.
According to one source, General Growth's plan to buy the property is contingent on Campbell Estate's affiliate finding suitable real estate to acquire in exchange.
Because of the estate's legal setup, it cannot sell or buy land directly, but must exchange property to acquire or dispose of real estate.
Hawai'i's second-wealthiest private trust, which bought Whalers Village in 1980 from Amfac Inc. for $14.5 million, decided to put the asset on the market to take advantage of high demand for retail property in the Islands.
General Growth owns and operates Ala Moana Center and Victoria Ward Centers on O'ahu, and Prince Kuhio Plaza on the Big Island. The company also manages Windward Mall on O'ahu and Queen Ka'ahumanu Center on Maui.
Whalers Village is a 112,000-square-foot center anchored by three ocean-front restaurants and a free whaling museum. It has been described as a trophy asset because of its tourist draw and a Ka'anapali beach location that could not be replicated under today's zoning ordinances.
Amfac opened the center in 1970 as a 47,000-square-foot open-air complex anchored by the first Neighbor Island location of department store Liberty House. After acquiring the property, Campbell Estate expanded Whalers Village in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Tenants include restaurants Hula Grill, Leilani's on the Beach and the Rusty Harpoon, and retailers Tiffany & Co., Honolua Surf, Martin & MacArthur, Maui Dive Shop, Tommy Bahama, Louis Vuitton and Hilo Hattie.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
General Growth will assume management of the property Jan. 1, according to Theresia McMurdo, a spokeswoman for Campbell Estate, which owns the center through an affiliate.
Campbell Estate, which owns Whaler's Village, has been searching for a buyer for the upscale resort mall in Ka'anapali, Maui, since March. General Growth Properties will begin managing the mall Jan. 1.
The fully occupied mall between the Westin Maui and Ka'anapali Beach hotels was expected to generate substantial interest from institutional investors like General Growth.
