The big-box giant recently applied for permits to build a store in Iwilei on 4.8 acres owned by Castle & Cooke at the corner of Alakawa Street and Nimitz Highway near Home Depot and Costco.

If approved, the store would increase competition for electronics consumers, and add to the contingent of big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Sam's Club moving into Honolulu's core.

"It makes absolute sense," said Mark Rosenbaum, research director for the University of Hawai'i Center for Retail Excellence. "It makes for one-stop shopping. I think it's wonderful that they're moving in."

It was unclear how tentative the plans are for the Best Buy store or when it might open if permits are granted.

A spokesman for the Minneapolis-based chain earlier this month declined to confirm plans for the store. Best Buy officials could not be reached yesterday. Bob Urquhart, a Castle & Cooke vice president, declined to discuss the status of efforts to lease or sell the property.

Local real estate experts said they believe a deal for Best Buy to lease or purchase the Castle & Cooke land is contingent on approval of building permits, which the city is reviewing.

Best Buy ran into difficulties in Pearl City after disclosing plans two years ago to develop a 50,000-square-foot store on a former automobile dealership site in an industrial area near the Pearl Harbor shoreline.

That project raised initial community and government concerns over store design, traffic and use of the near-shore property. But design changes were made and the project overcame opposition that included a mayoral veto of zoning approved by the City Council.

The Pearl City store is scheduled to open early next year, and employ 125 to 150 people.

Best Buy has 614 stores in 48 states and said it plans to open more than 60 stores this year. According to building permit documents, its planned Iwilei store is store No. 763. Construction is estimated by the city to cost $7.5 million.

The Iwilei parcel is the last major undeveloped site in the area owned by Castle & Cooke, which has attracted Home Depot and Costco to the area near its Dole Cannery office and retail complex.

Rosenbaum at UH said Best Buy would mure more consumers to the area. "These are category killers," he said, referring to Best Buy and Home Depot because they devote a large store to a single category of merchandise. "It makes sense for category killers to clump together. The next thing we need is Barnes & Noble to complete the picture."